Is My Kingdom of Ants: José Celestino Mutis and the Dawn of Natural History in the New World a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Johns Hopkins University Press first printing, hardcover, co-authored with José M. Gómez Durán; a slim illustrated title of roughly 120 pages
• As a university-press book it carries no printer's number line in the trade sense; the first printing is identified by the Johns Hopkins University Press imprint dated 2010 with no later-printing statement on the copyright page
• The dust jacket reproduces a colored engraving of ants after the naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian; the printed jacket price should be present on the flap

How Johns Hopkins University Press marked a first edition

• First printings carry the copyright line with no later-printing notice; subsequent printings/editions are stated. Modern titles add a number line where '1' = first printing.
• Copyright page commonly prints '9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' or similar; lowest figure = printing.

Full Johns Hopkins University Press first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US true first (Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2010). No separately preceding edition; the work originated in English from this press.P-007337

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. A Kindle e-book followed the print first printing but does not affect priority of the hardcover.P-007338

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Kingdom of Ants: José Celestino Mutis and the Dawn of Natural History in the New World a first edition?

A first edition of Kingdom of Ants: José Celestino Mutis and the Dawn of Natural History in the New World by E. O. Wilson (Johns Hopkins University Press) is identified by: Johns Hopkins University Press first printing, hardcover, co-authored with José M.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). US true first (Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2010).

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club edition. A Kindle e-book followed the print first printing but does not affect priority of the hardcover.

I have a first edition of Kingdom of Ants: José Celestino Mutis and the Dawn of Natural History in the New World — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.