# Is "The Survival of the Bark Canoe" by John McPhee a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Survival of the Bark Canoe by John McPhee (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1975) is identified by: FSG first printing, with 'First printing, 1975' stated on the copyright page and no additional-printing statement. US true first (FSG); McPhee published exclusively with FSG.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- FSG first printing, with 'First printing, 1975' stated on the copyright page and no additional-printing statement
- Brown cloth with gilt spine lettering and a light brown topstain; illustrated with canoe sketches through the text and several leaves of photographs and drawings at the rear
- The priced first-issue FSG dust jacket should be present
- Catalogued as Ahearn APG 013
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John McPhee |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | FSG first printing, with 'First printing, 1975' stated on the copyright page and no additional-printing statement |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
FSG first printing, with 'First printing, 1975' stated on the copyright page and no additional-printing statement. Brown cloth with gilt spine lettering and a light brown topstain; illustrated with canoe sketches through the text and several leaves of photographs and drawings at the rear. The priced first-issue FSG dust jacket should be present. Catalogued as Ahearn APG 013.

## Is this the true first?
US true first (FSG); McPhee published exclusively with FSG.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No known book-club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Survival of the Bark Canoe* by John McPhee a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-survival-of-the-bark-canoe
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.