The Columbia Biological Series, 1894–1974: a bibliographic note

The Columbia Biological Series (1894–1974) was produced by the Department of Biology (later Zoology) of Columbia University, New York, and spanned a wide range of topics within the biological sciences. This paper provides a bibliography for the twenty-five volumes of this series together with basic details on the launch (1894), re-launch (1937), and history of the series. The series receives attention from historians of biology principally as the source for canonical texts in the synthesis period of evolutionary studies, with publications by Dobzhansky, Mayr, Simpson, and Stebbins. This note provides additional details on the publication history of these volumes. Synthesis historians, myself included, have poorly appreciated how the production of this series fit into efforts to promote Columbia University as a major centre for innovative biological research. We also have poorly understood the relations between these books and the Jesup lecture series, an irregular event sponsored by the department at Columbia. Tracing the series' publication history speaks to both these topics.