and elsewhere that confirmed the principle of isostasy (i.e. This conviction was reinforced by global oceanographic surveys in 1872-77 demonstrating the Earth's bimodal elevation frequency, and simultaneously by gravimetric and geodetic surveys in the western U.S.

Before Wegener put forward his revolutionary theory, it 'was widely believed that continents and ocean basins are primordial features. ABPC/RBH record no copies of this important paper in the original printed wrappers since the Norman copy, which was rebacked (Christie's, 29 October 1998, lot 1337, $2185). Wegener (1880-1930) died at the early age of 50 on an arctic expedition at Eismitte in Greenland. Between 19 continental drift was 'the focus of much controversy and debate, but the theory afterwards fell into obscurity, not to be revived until the discovery of new paleomagnetic evidence in the 1950s' (Norman). Wegener's first publication on continental drift appeared in three issues of Petermanns Mitteilung in April-June 1912 however, Wegener's theory attracted little interest until 1919, when he published the second edition of his treatise Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane. Wegener's drift mechanism was later shown to be untenable it has been replaced by the idea of convection currents in the earth's upper mantle.

He postulated that 200 million years ago there existed a supercontinent ('Pangaea'), which began to break up during the Mesozoic era due to the cumulative effects of the 'Eötvös force,' which drives continents towards the equator, and the tidal attraction of the sun and moon, which drags the earth's crust westward with respect to its interior. 'Wegener is remembered today as the originator and one of the chief proponents of the theory of continental drift, which he conceived after being struck by the apparent correspondence in the shapes of the coastlines on the west and east sides of the Atlantic, and supported with extensive research on the geological and paleontological correspondences between the two sides. First edition, journal issues in the original printed wrappers.

Arthur wegener