# Is "The Cuisines of Mexico" by Diana Kennedy a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy (Harper & Row, 1972) is identified by: First printing per Harper & Row convention: the copyright page states 'First Edition' with no later-printing code; 1972 copyright (ISBN 0-06-012344-3). The US Harper & Row 1972 is the true first; confirm via the stated 'First Edition' plus the matching 1972 copyright.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing per Harper & Row convention: the copyright page states 'First Edition' with no later-printing code
- 1972 copyright (ISBN 0-06-012344-3)
- About 378 pp., rust cloth-covered boards, drawings by Sidonie Coryn, color illustrations
- Kennedy's first book; foreword by Craig Claiborne
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Row
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Diana Kennedy |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
| Year | 1972 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing per Harper & Row convention: the copyright page states 'First Edition' with no later-printing code |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing per Harper & Row convention: the copyright page states 'First Edition' with no later-printing code; 1972 copyright (ISBN 0-06-012344-3). About 378 pp., rust cloth-covered boards, drawings by Sidonie Coryn, color illustrations. Kennedy's first book; foreword by Craig Claiborne.

## Is this the true first?
The US Harper & Row 1972 is the true first; confirm via the stated 'First Edition' plus the matching 1972 copyright. A 1986 revised and expanded edition is a later 'first thus.'

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club and later trade printings drop the 'First Edition' statement; the 1986 revision and later Clarkson Potter consolidations (e.g., The Essential Cuisines of Mexico) are not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Cuisines of Mexico* by Diana Kennedy a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-cuisines-of-mexico
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.