Cookery Books in The Special Collections

Research CenterMarch, 2011

Cervio, Vincenzo. Il trinciante di M. Vincenzo Cervio / ampliato, et ridotto a perfettione dal cavallier reale Fusoritto da Narni, trinciante dell'illustmo. & reuermo. signor cardinal Farnese.. Imprint Venetia (Venice) : Appresso gli heredi di Francesco Tramezini, 1581

Il Tinciante di M. Vincenzo Cervio (The Carving Knife of M. Vincenzio Cervio) presents an elaborate treatise on carving, with directions for the cutting up of various foods, including fruit, fish, shellfish, and fowl.

Weckerin, Anna. En artig oc meget nyttelig kogebog. Kiobenhaffn: Peter Hake, 1648.

The 1616 first edition of this work was one of Denmarks’ earliest published cookbooks. This 1648 edition is one of the oldest cookbooks in our collection. The traditional fish dishes of this maritime nation predominate. Frau Wecker, widow of a German physician, saw her works translated into other languages because they were useful in providing information about healthy diets as well as recipes for the sick.

Moxon, Elizabeth (n.d.) English Housewifry Exemplified in Above Four Hundred and Fifty Receipts… Leeds: George Copperwaite, 1758.

This popular title by Elizabeth Moxon was in its eighth edition by 1758, attesting to the popularity of its advice and recipes. The book was written with "mistresses of families, higher and lower women servants and confined to things useful” Woodcuts and foldouts at the back of the book show suggested table arrangements for the placement of foods.

Donovan, Michael (d.1876). The Cabinet Cyclopaedia...Domestic Economy. London: Longman, et al, 2 volumes; 1830, 1837.

Domestic Economy provides a technical explanation of brewing and human food written for the layman interested in learning more about the source of all nutrition. Dr. Lardner’s popular Cabinet Cyclopaedia series was designed to be a portable, popular source of information on a wide variety of technical and professional subjects.

Glasse, Hanna (1708-1770). The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. Edinburgh: Alexander Donaldson, 1774.

In her preface, the author states that she has not written "...in the high polite styles..." rather, her intention is to "...instruct the lower sort...” First published in 1847, this work continued to be published into the nineteenth century, well after the author’s death. Glasse had as her target audience the increasingly literate servant class in the fine homes of England.

Nott, John (n.d.). The Cooks and Confectioners Dictionary: or, the Accomplish'd Housewives Companion. London: C. Rivington, 1724.

John Nott was a prominent chef in Georgian era England. He addresses his book "To all Good Housewives“... (and) may be a necessary companion also for cooks, in taverns, eating-houses and publick inns."

Kitchiner, William (1775-1827). The Cook's Oracle: Containing containing Containing Receipts for Plain Cookery on the Most Economical Plan for Private Families. London: A. Constable & Co., 1823.

A physician by training, Kitchiner was also a best selling author in his day publishing a variety of self-help books including this work. Presaging popular themes of today, he cites poor quality food as being responsible for impairing health and producing disease, and admonishes shoppers to pay ready money (cash) for everything and deal with respectable tradesmen in their own neighborhoods.

The treatise on domestic economy in Ladies' Library was written for servants and mistresses of families. It includes sections on cookery, domestic medicine, preservation of beauty and prevention of deformity as well as a "vast fund of miscellaneous information of the highest importance in domestic life."

Volume I of The Ladies' Library: or, Encyclopedia of Female Knowledge.... London: J. Ridgway, 1790.

Volume II of The Ladies' Library: or Encyclopedia of Female Knowledge.... London: J. Ridgeway, 1790.

Brillat Savarin, Jean Anthelme (1755-1826). Physiologie du Gout. [Paris]: Gabriel de Gonet, (1848).

First published in 1825, just months before his death, Brillat Savarin’s Physiologie du Gout (Physiology of Taste) has never been out of print. Often quoted on matters epicurean, his remark “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are” endures in our expression “You are what you eat”

Cobbett, William. Cottage Economy...The Poor Man's Friend. New York: John Doyle, 1833, 1850 edition.

William Cobbett (1763-1835) was born on a small farm in Surrey, England. A self-educated man, he worked at a variety of occupations in England and America. He composed this book to aid those in the laboring classes who wished to better their family life with practical advice on such matters as brewing beer, making bread, keeping cows, preparing grass and grain for making hats and bonnets and instructions for erecting icehouses.

Soyer, Alexis (1809-1858) A Gastronomic Regenerator.... London: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co., 1849.

Born in France, Soyer was chef in several noble homes and private clubs in France and England. He developed the concept of providing free soup in portable kitchens to feed those starving in the potato famine in Ireland and funded numerous charities to feed the poor with profits from his several cookery publications.

Beecher, Catherine E. (1800-1878) and Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) . The American Woman's Home: or, Principles of Domestic Science. New York: J.B. Ford and Company, 1870.

Catherine Beecher and her sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a number of books in support of their American social reform ideals, including education of women and abolition of slavery. In this work, they provide detailed instruction for “the maintenance of economical, healthful, beautiful and Christian homes” as for example , “The frying-pan--True way of using it” in chapter thirteen.

Sylvain, Adrien (1826-1914). Household Science. New York: Sadlier, 1881.

Household science is herein defined as "the art of employing for welfare and comfort of a family all the resources which Providence places at our disposition." The author directs the advice in this book to young women; (it) “will teach you to be useful; and is not that the most beautiful dream a young girl can have?" The author goes on to say that "the happiness of a family depends almost entirely on a woman..."

A Noble Boke Off Cookry Offor a Prynce Houssolde or Eny Other Estately Houssolde: Reprinted Verbatim from a Rare Manuscript in the Holkham Collection. Edited by Mrs. Alexander Napier. London: Elliot Stock, 1882.

Mrs. Alexander Napier (Robina) was the wife of the Vicar of Holkham and as such was allowed access to the magnificent library of the Earls of Leicester at Holkham Hall. The respected editor of several other works, including a volume of Johnsoniana and the memoirs of Metternich, Napier’s interest in publishing the Noble Boke was literary rather than instructional. She estimates the date of the original manuscript as not much later than 1647 and provides the following statement to her readers; “ The study may afford amusement and interest, but not a moment's sorrow that barbarous magnificence and coarse profusion have happily given way to the comfort, simplicity and refinement of modern times. “

Cocoa and chocolate : a short history of their production and use : with full and particular account of their properties, and of the various methods of preparing them for food . Dorchester, Mass, c1886.Published by the as a means of advertising their firm, Walter Baker and Company, and promoting the production and use of cocoa and chocolate. Recipes for beverages and desserts are included.

Lincoln, Mary J. (1844-1921). Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1913.

Mary Lincoln was raised in Massachusetts and graduated from the Wheaton Female Seminary. She began to support her family in 1879 when she began working as an instructor at the Boston Cooking School. Aside from the expected recipes and guidance for housekeeping, Lincolns’ book provides instruction on establishing a cooking school of one’s own, complete with examination questions and course descriptions.