Is My Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History a First Edition?

The points of issue

• W. W. Norton, New York, 1989
• 347 pages, illustrated
• Bound in half cloth over boards with a blue cloth spine lettered in white and yellow
• The copyright page carries a full descending number line ending in '1' for the first printing
• The first-state dust jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap

How W. W. Norton marked a first edition

• Early/statement-only era (1923 to roughly the late 1950s–early 1960s): a first printing carries the words 'First Edition' on the copyright page, and Norton simply DROPPED that line on later printings — there was no print…
• Number-line adoption (sometime in the 1960s — the guides do not pin an exact year, and it roughly coincides with the employee-ownership transition): Norton added a printing key/number row to the copyright page. From this…

Full W. W. Norton 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?

The US Norton edition is the true first (published 1989); the UK Hutchinson Radius edition followed in 1990.P-029607

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Identify later printings by a number line that no longer descends to '1'; the Penguin/paperback and book-club issues are reprints, not the first printing.P-029608

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History a first edition?

A first edition of Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen Jay Gould (W. W. Norton) is identified by: Norton, New York, 1989; 347 pages, illustrated.

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). The US Norton edition is the true first (published 1989); the UK Hutchinson Radius edition followed in 1990.

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

Identify later printings by a number line that no longer descends to '1'; the Penguin/paperback and book-club issues are reprints, not the first printing.

I have a first edition of Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History — 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.