# Is "Serve It Forth" by M. F. K. Fisher (Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Serve It Forth by M. F. K. Fisher (Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher) (Harper & Brothers, 1937) is identified by: Copyright page carries 'First Edition' together with the Harper letter-code 'D-M' (in the Harper system, the second letter M = 1937). The US Harper edition is the true first; a UK edition followed later as a 'first thus.' First printing confirmed by the matching 'D-M' code alongside the 'First Edition' slug; an altered code indicates a later printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Copyright page carries 'First Edition' together with the Harper letter-code 'D-M' (in the Harper system, the second letter M = 1937)
- Octavo, about 253 pages; orange cloth stamped in black and gilt; pink endpapers; illustrated dust jacket with its printed price
- Fisher's first book
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | M. F. K. Fisher (Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher) |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
| Year | 1937 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Copyright page carries 'First Edition' together with the Harper letter-code 'D-M' (in the Harper system, the second letter M = 1937) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Copyright page carries 'First Edition' together with the Harper letter-code 'D-M' (in the Harper system, the second letter M = 1937). Octavo, about 253 pages; orange cloth stamped in black and gilt; pink endpapers; illustrated dust jacket with its printed price. Fisher's first book.

## Is this the true first?
The US Harper edition is the true first; a UK edition followed later as a 'first thus.' First printing confirmed by the matching 'D-M' code alongside the 'First Edition' slug; an altered code indicates a later printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Harper code changes on later printings and the 'First Edition' line is dropped. No major book-club issue of the standalone title; this content later appears in the omnibus The Art of Eating (1954).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Serve It Forth* by M. F. K. Fisher (Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/serve-it-forth
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.