# Is "The Theory of Island Biogeography" by E. O. Wilson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Theory of Island Biogeography by E. O. Wilson (Princeton University Press, 1967) is identified by: Princeton University Press first printing, 1967, issued as Monographs in Population Biology No. US true first (Princeton University Press, 1967).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Princeton University Press first printing, 1967, issued as Monographs in Population Biology No
- 1 (the inaugural volume of that series), co-authored with Robert H. MacArthur
- Bound in publisher's cloth and issued in a priced dust jacket; the first-issue jacket should retain its printed price on the flap
- Collation runs to roughly 203 pages of text with figures and tables
- The work was reprinted and later reissued in the Princeton Landmarks in Biology series with a new ISBN and cover, which distinguishes those later states from the 1967 first printing
- Publisher imprint reads Princeton University Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | E. O. Wilson |
| Publisher | Princeton University Press |
| Year | 1967 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Princeton University Press first printing, 1967, issued as Monographs in Population Biology No |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Princeton University Press first printing, 1967, issued as Monographs in Population Biology No. 1 (the inaugural volume of that series), co-authored with Robert H. MacArthur. Bound in publisher's cloth and issued in a priced dust jacket; the first-issue jacket should retain its printed price on the flap. Collation runs to roughly 203 pages of text with figures and tables. The work was reprinted and later reissued in the Princeton Landmarks in Biology series with a new ISBN and cover, which distinguishes those later states from the 1967 first printing.

## Is this the true first?
US true first (Princeton University Press, 1967). On the title page MacArthur is the first-listed author ("Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson"); the work is jointly authored, and standard references cite it as MacArthur and Wilson 1967.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Beware later Princeton Landmarks in Biology reissues, which carry updated cover art and a different ISBN rather than the 1967 first-printing sheets.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Theory of Island Biogeography* by E. O. Wilson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-theory-of-island-biogeography
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.