# Is "The Founding Fish" by John McPhee a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Founding Fish by John McPhee (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002) is identified by: First hardcover, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2002 (ISBN 0374104441). US true first (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2002); a hardcover original with no earlier printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First hardcover, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2002 (ISBN 0374104441)
- First printing per the FSG copyright-page convention, with the number line reading down to 1
- Cloth-backed boards with black spine lettering; first-state full-colour photographic dust jacket reproducing period shad plates after Sherman F. Denton, with the original printed price present on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John McPhee |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 2002 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First hardcover, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2002 (ISBN 0374104441) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First hardcover, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2002 (ISBN 0374104441). First printing per the FSG copyright-page convention, with the number line reading down to 1. Cloth-backed boards with black spine lettering; first-state full-colour photographic dust jacket reproducing period shad plates after Sherman F. Denton, with the original printed price present on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
US true first (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2002); a hardcover original with no earlier printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No known book-club edition. Confirm the full FSG number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; an advance uncorrected proof exists and precedes the trade first but is not the published first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Founding Fish* by John McPhee a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-founding-fish
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.