BNPS.co.uk (01202 558833)
Pic: ReemanDansie/BNPS

Pictured: The photos begin in 1855 when a 46-year-old Darwin, without his famous beard (centre, second right), was preparing to publish his revolutionary theory of evolution.

A never-before-seen album of portrait photos depicting the evolution of Charles Darwin throughout his life and discovered in a descendant's bureau has sold for £162,000.

The "historically important" collection of 19 Carte de Visite prints, seven signed by the legendary biologist himself, span almost 30 years to his death in 1882.

They were collated by his eldest daughter, Henrietta Litchfield and bound in a leather album which she inscribed in memory of her father.

The extraordinary album was kept in the Darwin dynasty for 135 years until it was found in the home of his great-great grandson, George Erasmus Darwin, in 2017.