# Is "Kingdom of Ants: José Celestino Mutis and the Dawn of Natural History in the New World" by E. O. Wilson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** 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, 2010) is identified by: Johns Hopkins University Press first printing, hardcover, co-authored with José M. US true first (Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2010).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Johns Hopkins University Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | E. O. Wilson |
| Publisher | Johns Hopkins University Press |
| Year | 2010 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Johns Hopkins University Press first printing, hardcover, co-authored with José M. Gómez… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Kingdom of Ants: José Celestino Mutis and the Dawn of Natural History in the New World* by E. O. Wilson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/kingdom-of-ants-jos-celestino-mutis-and-the-dawn-of-natural
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.