# Is "The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History" by Stephen Jay Gould a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould (W. W. Norton, 1980) is identified by: Norton first printing, 1980, identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. US true first (W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- W. W. Norton first printing, 1980, identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- Bound in cloth over boards and issued in a priced pictorial dust jacket (the printed price should be present on the flap unless clipped)
- Some first-printing copies were issued with an errata/erratum slip laid in
- Collection of natural-history essays
- American Book Award winner
- Publisher imprint reads W. W. Norton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen Jay Gould |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton |
| Year | 1980 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | W. W. Norton first printing, 1980, identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
W. W. Norton first printing, 1980, identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Bound in cloth over boards and issued in a priced pictorial dust jacket (the printed price should be present on the flap unless clipped). Some first-printing copies were issued with an errata/erratum slip laid in. Collection of natural-history essays; American Book Award winner.

## Is this the true first?
US true first (W. W. Norton).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No prominent book-club edition; identification rests on the number line and the priced pictorial first-issue jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History* by Stephen Jay Gould a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-pandas-thumb-more-reflections-in-natural-history
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.