# Is "The Gastronomical Me" by M. F. K. Fisher a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Gastronomical Me by M. F. K. Fisher (Duell, Sloan and Pearce, New York, 1943) is identified by: The first edition, first printing carries the Roman numeral 'I' on the copyright page — Duell, Sloan and Pearce's first-printing convention, with later impressions showing 'II,' 'III,' and so on. US-only true first; there was no preceding or separate UK edition of note, so the 1943 Duell, Sloan and Pearce printing is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first edition, first printing carries the Roman numeral 'I' on the copyright page — Duell, Sloan and Pearce's first-printing convention, with later impressions showing 'II,' 'III,' and so on
- It is bound in the publisher's green cloth stamped in silver at the spine, octavo, 295 pages
- The key jacket point: the first-issue dust jacket bears a romantic reclining-pose photograph of Fisher by George Hurrell on the rear panel; it was withdrawn almost immediately after publication and replaced by a more conservative three-quarter portrait, so a first printing may be encountered in either the withdrawn or the replacement jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Duell, Sloan and Pearce, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | M. F. K. Fisher |
| Publisher | Duell, Sloan and Pearce, New York |
| Year | 1943 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first edition, first printing carries the Roman numeral 'I' on the copyright page — Duell, Sloan and Pearce's first-printing… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The first edition, first printing carries the Roman numeral 'I' on the copyright page — Duell, Sloan and Pearce's first-printing convention, with later impressions showing 'II,' 'III,' and so on. It is bound in the publisher's green cloth stamped in silver at the spine, octavo, 295 pages. The key jacket point: the first-issue dust jacket bears a romantic reclining-pose photograph of Fisher by George Hurrell on the rear panel; it was withdrawn almost immediately after publication and replaced by a more conservative three-quarter portrait, so a first printing may be encountered in either the withdrawn or the replacement jacket.

## Is this the true first?
US-only true first; there was no preceding or separate UK edition of note, so the 1943 Duell, Sloan and Pearce printing is the true first. It completes the early Fisher run alongside 'Serve It Forth,' 'Consider the Oyster,' and 'How to Cook a Wolf.'

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The North Point Press paperback (1989) and later collected/omnibus printings (notably within 'The Art of Eating') are the common later texts; a green-cloth copy showing a later-printing numeral rather than 'I' on the copyright page is a subsequent Duell, Sloan and Pearce impression, not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Gastronomical Me* by M. F. K. Fisher a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-gastronomical-me
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.