# Is "The Patch" by John McPhee a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Patch by John McPhee (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018) is identified by: FSG first printing identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; issued in a dust jacket carrying the original printed retail price. US true first edition (Farrar, Straus and Giroux); the US edition precedes the Australian Text Publishing edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- FSG first printing identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; issued in a dust jacket carrying the original printed retail price
- Essay collection, McPhee's seventh with FSG, published November 2018
- 256 pages
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John McPhee |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 2018 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | FSG first printing identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; issued in a dust jacket carrying the original… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
FSG first printing identified by a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; issued in a dust jacket carrying the original printed retail price. Essay collection, McPhee's seventh with FSG, published November 2018; 256 pages.

## Is this the true first?
US true first edition (Farrar, Straus and Giroux); the US edition precedes the Australian Text Publishing edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No known book club edition; later printings are marked by a number line that no longer descends to 1.

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