Is My Copy of The Extended Phenotype: The Gene as the Unit of Selection a First Edition?

The points of issue

• W. H. Freeman and Company, 1982; hardcover, 307 pages, with the imprint statement reading Oxford and San Francisco
• First edition, no later-printing or revised statement; priced dust jacket
• ISBN 0716713586

How W. H. Freeman and Company marked a first edition

• c.1980-present: number line on the copyright page; the lowest digit present indicates the printing. Many texts also carry a coded year cluster. For revised STM textbooks the title-page edition number (1st, 2nd, 3rd ed.)…
• Scientific American Library series (1980s-2000s): collectible numbered series volumes whose first printings follow the contemporary Freeman number-line convention.

Full W. H. Freeman and Company 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. 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.
5. 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?

True first is the 1982 W. H. Freeman and Company hardcover (imprint dated Oxford and San Francisco). Oxford University Press issued only the 1983 paperback, and OUP later published the 1999 revised edition with the subtitle The Long Reach of the Gene. Oxford University Press was not the original publisher of the first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No BCE.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Extended Phenotype: The Gene as the Unit of Selection a first edition?

A first edition of The Extended Phenotype: The Gene as the Unit of Selection by Richard Dawkins (W. H. Freeman and Company) is identified by: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1982; hardcover, 307 pages, with the imprint statement reading Oxford and San Francisco.

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. True first is the 1982 W. H. Freeman and Company hardcover (imprint dated Oxford and San Francisco).

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

No BCE.

I have a first edition of The Extended Phenotype: The Gene as the Unit of Selection — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.