Is My The Selfish Gene a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First edition, first printing: Oxford University Press, 1976, with no later-printing statements
• OUP imprint on title page
• Original dust jacket (the classic green/Desmond Morris-influenced design)
• First printing precedes the 1989 second edition, which adds extensive new endnotes and two new chapters — collectors want the 1976 text without the added chapters

How Oxford University Press marked a first edition

• Until the late 1980s OUP made NO affirmative first-edition statement; first printings carried only the copyright/publication line, while LATER printings were noted ('Reprinted 19xx,' 'Second impression') on the copyright…
• From the late 1980s OUP adopted a number row/line on the copyright page; the lowest number present indicates the printing ('1' = first).

Full Oxford 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. 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.
4. Verify this is the UK 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?

The 1976 OUP edition is the true first (Oxford was the publisher for both UK and US). The 1989 'second edition' is textually distinct and far more common; only the 1976 is the first. Signed first printings are uncommon.P-025873

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No prominent US book-club edition; the main confusion is between the 1976 first edition and the much more common 1989 expanded second edition and later anniversary editions. Check for the 1976 date and absence of the added chapters/preface.P-025874

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Selfish Gene a first edition?

A first edition of The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins (Oxford University Press) is identified by: First edition, first printing: Oxford University Press, 1976, with no later-printing statements; OUP imprint on title page.

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. The 1976 OUP edition is the true first (Oxford was the publisher for both UK and US).

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

No prominent US book-club edition; the main confusion is between the 1976 first edition and the much more common 1989 expanded second edition and later anniversary editions. Check for the 1976 date and absence of the added chapters/preface.

I have a first edition of The Selfish Gene — 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.