Is My Micrographia a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Folio, London 1665, printed by John Martyn and James Allestry, Printers to the Royal Society; the 1665 imprint directs buyers to their shop at the Bell in St Paul's Church-yard
• The title page is printed in red and black with the engraved arms of the Royal Society, and the first issue includes the imprimatur (privilege) leaf licensed by the Council of the Royal Society — its presence is the cited first-issue point
• A complete copy has 38 engraved plates, of which 12 are folding or double-page, including the celebrated fold-out flea and the louse, which opens to several times the leaf; errata are printed at the end of the preliminaries
• Signatures run [pi]2, A2, a-q2, B-C2, D-Z4, Aa-Kk4, Ll-Mm2
• Because the plates are large, valuable individually and easily removed, collation of all 38 (and of the folding plates' completeness at the folds) is the single most important check
• References: Wing H2620

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
3. 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.
4. 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?

London 1665 is the true first and there is no foreign or earlier precedent; Micrographia was written and first printed in English as the Royal Society's first major publication. The 1667 Micrographia is not a second edition but the first edition, second issue — the same 1665 sheets reissued with a cancel title dated MDCLXVII; recorded 1667 title states carry John Martyn's changed address at the Bell a little without Temple Bar, and copies are also catalogued with a James Allestry / Royal Society 1667 imprint. A 1667 title page therefore means second issue, and should be described as such rather than as a first edition without qualification.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club category applies. The dominant reprint tell is Henry Baker's Micrographia Restaurata: or, the Copper-Plates of Dr. Hooke's Wonderful Discoveries by the Microscope (London: printed for and sold by John Bowles, 1745), which reprints the original 1665 copperplates — with some plates omitted, some copied, captions added and plate numbers renumbered to fit the abridgement — in 33 engraved plates (4 folding). Its impressions are genuine strikes from Hooke's plates and are constantly mistaken for 1665 plates; the plate numbering, added captions and 1745 letterpress give it away. Also expect modern facsimiles and Dover-style reprints, and loose plates broken out of any of the three plate-printings (1665, 1667, 1745).

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Micrographia a first edition?

A first edition of Micrographia by Robert Hooke (John Martyn and James Allestry, Printers to the Royal Society, London) is identified by: Folio, London 1665, printed by John Martyn and James Allestry, Printers to the Royal Society; the 1665 imprint directs buyers to their shop at the Bell in St Paul's Church-yard.

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

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. London 1665 is the true first and there is no foreign or earlier precedent; Micrographia was written and first printed in English as the Royal Society's first major publication.

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

No book-club category applies. The dominant reprint tell is Henry Baker's Micrographia Restaurata: or, the Copper-Plates of Dr. Hooke's Wonderful Discoveries by the Microscope (London: printed for and sold by John Bowles, 1745), which reprints the original 1665 copperplates — with some plates omitted, some copied, captions added and plate numbers renumbered to fit the abridgement — in 33 engraved plates (4 folding). Its impressions are genuine strikes from Hooke's plates and are constantly mista

I have a first edition of Micrographia — 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.