4 Lewis Thomas first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher (1974) to The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine-Watcher (1983) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Lewis Thomas title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Lewis Thomas copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher — 1974 · Viking PressViking Press, New York, 1974. Bound in quarter blue cloth over green boards. First printing has no added later-printing statement on the copyright page; first-state dust jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap (later printings and reprints differ). Essays first appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. US Viking (New York) is the true first. Won a 1975 National Book Award. Multiple 1974 printings exist, so confirm the copyright page carries no later-printing notice. Book-club reprints lack the original flap price and may carry a blind-stamp to the rear board; check the copyright page for any added printing statement to separate them from the trade first.
- The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher — 1979 · Viking PressViking Press, New York, 1979. Blue boards with a cloth-backed spine and gilt titling; 175 pages. Copyright page states 'First published in... 1979 by The Viking Press' with no later-printing statement on the true first; first-state dust jacket retains the original printed flap price. US Viking (New York) is the true first; an Allen Lane / UK edition followed. Club and later issues lack the original flap price; verify the 'First published... 1979' statement and the absence of any added printing notice.
- Late Night Thoughts on Listening to Mahler's Ninth Symphony — 1983 · The Viking PressUS Viking Press (New York), 1983 (ISBN 0-670-70390-7), octavo, roughly 168 pages. The first printing is identified on the copyright page by the statement 'First published in 1983 by The Viking Press' with no subsequent-printing notice; the first-issue dust jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap, unclipped. US Viking Press (New York), 1983, is the true first; published November 1983. This is a collection of essays that first appeared largely in The New England Journal of Medicine. Per Viking's practice of this period a descending number row was added only to later printings, so a true first should show the 'First published in 1983' statement rather than a number line; book-club issues additionally lack the printed jacket price and use lighter boards.
- The Youngest Science: Notes of a Medicine-Watcher — 1983 · The Viking PressFirst edition with the Viking number line on the copyright page; tan or beige paper-covered boards with gilt author initials and a black cloth spine; first-issue dust jacket carries the original price. Issued in the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation series. US Viking Press (New York), 1983, is the true first. Confirm the number line on the copyright page; book-club issues lack the jacket price.
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