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David. Elizabeth - A signed copy, with a signed letter to her editor
Italian Food
ITALIAN FOOD by ELIZABETH DAVID Drawings by Renato Guttuso. MACDONALD : LONDON.
FIRST EDITION. 1954. With a clean DJ. Signed on the fep by E.D.-- "To John, with love Elizabeth September 24' 1954" 1p Half Title. Frontispiece and Title Page. vii-viii Acknowledgments. ix Contents. [1] 11-313. 314-315 Bibliography - 'Some Italian Cookbooks'. [1] 317-335 Index. [1] 1fep. Also enclosed is a 2 page letter in E.D's handwriting, dated the same day - 24th. from her home 24 Halsey St SW3. To "Dear John" The pages are slightly browned at the edges. Also enclosed is a woodcut illustration of Melon, Salami and Proscuitto by Renato Guttoso. It is the same illustration that is on page 48, preceding the chapter on 'Antipasti e Insalate' There are many illustrations throughout the book. A very clean copy of the very scarce 1st edition. A very rare item especially with the topical letter and the Guttoso illustration.
- The signature in the book and on the letter are both dated on the same day and addressed to John; John Lehman her publisher. The letter states "Dear John Italian Food comes out today (just about three years since we signed the contract) I am glad to see it out at last, but also very sorrowful that it is not your production. I hope that you wont feel that I have taken you[r] name in vain in acknowledging my debt to you, and it occurs to me now that perhaps I should have asked you first, and if I have committed a breach of etiquette, please forgive me. I was anxious to put in record some word of tribute to the fact that without your encouragement I don't believe I could have carried it out, but whether or not the book has any success, I would like it not to be a discredit to you. With Love Elizabeth." During the writing of 'Italian Food' John Lehman's ailing publishing firm ground to a halt. In spite of being one of the most entrepreneurial and prestigious contemporary publishing names, Lehman was making a loss, and the printers Purnell told him they couldn't subsidize him any longer. Macdonald, the final publisher of 'Italian Food' was a financially successful firm under the Parnell aegis. Macdonald was offered Lehman's list of authors by Purnell, but agreed to take only two, one of whom was E.D. Elizabeth was furious, but could do nothing to extract herself from what she felt were Macdonald's clutches. Elizabeth acknowledges her debt to John Lehman in the 'Acknowledgments' at the beginning of 'Italian Food'- Hence the rather touching and pertinent letter.

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Modern category

ref number: 10997

David. Elizabeth - A signed copy and with a postcard addresed to E.D.
An Omelette and a Glass of Wine
ELIZABETH DAVID. An Omelette and a Glass of Wine JN A Jill Norman book ROBERT HALE. LONDON
FIRST EDITION. 1984. Front paste-down and end paper with illustrations. [1] Half-title with signature of Author. Frontispiece of E.D. in her Kitchen. Title page. [1] 1pp. Dedication. [1] 7-8 Contents. 9-18 Introduction. 19-309. 310-318 Index. [3] back end paper and paste-down with illustrations. As new, black original cloth boards and spine with gilt lettering. As new D/W. Internally as new. Many in-text illustrations. Immaculate condition. The in-text drawings by Marie Alix. On the front cover of the D/W is a copy of the famous painting of coloured eggs in an earthenware dish by Clark Morris - 1944. Also enclosed is a postcard of Beirut, posted in Menton to Mrs Elizabeth David - 1958. Signed 'love Lett' who was Clark Morris's partner informing her that he is arriving at London airport on the 16th. Further on he invites her to come to B.E. to sit and eat Koubbi, Tabbouli, Labne and Moutabel with Arat. In excellent condition.
- Elizabeth David passed away in 1992; leaving behind an array of masterfully written articles and essays written for The Spectator, Gourmet magazine, Vogue and The (London) Times etc. The majority of them were penned during the 1940's and 50's.. An Omelet and A Glass of Wine is a collection of those essays she collated and incorporated into this book. When reading it, one gets a real sense of her prolific output and her marvelous style as a writer, that garnered over the years, so may devotees. There was only 2000 copies published of this the first edition. As it is also signed and with the interesting piece of ephemera, it becomes altogether a rare E.D. item.

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Modern category

ref number: 11003

David. Elizabeth - A signed copy
French Provincial Cooking
ELIZABETH DAVID French Provincial Cooking ILLUSTRATED BY JULIAN RENNY LONDON: MICHAEL JOSEPH
FIRST EDITION. 1960. D/W in very good condition. Green cloth boards with red illustration on front cover. Spine with a red label and gilt lettering. 1fep. Half-title with signature of the author dated November 25th 1960. [1] Title page. [1] 1p Dedication 'To P.H. with Love' 1pp Acknowledgements. 2pp Contents. 9-14 Introduction. 15-459. 460-461 Cookery books. 462-473 Bibliograpghy. 474-493 Index. [1] 1fep. Text very clean. Overall in excellent condition. Extremely scarce book especially signed by E.D.
- The dedication to 'P.H. with Love' is the initials of a lover of that period, whom Lisa Chaney in her book about E.D. informs us, was the person that E.D. loved the most, but eventually left her to marry another. The identity of this person, although known to her friends, is not revealed.

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Modern category

ref number: 11004

David. Elizabeth - A unique copy; signed twice
English Bread and Yeast Book
Elizabeth David English Bread and Yeast Cookery With illustrations by Wendy Jones - Allen Lane (with illustrated drawings of bread loaves)
FIRST EDITION. 1977. 8vo. Front and back paste-down and endpapers with illustrated drawings. [1] 1fep with Elizabeth David's signature to 'Paula Ferieter A small thank you December 1st 1977' [1] Title page. Signed again by the author. [1] 1pp To Jill Norman Affectionately. [1] vii-x Contents. xi-xiv Acknowledgements. xv-xvi List of Plates. xvii-xxii Introduction. 1pp History and Background. [1] 3-547. [1] 8pp Bibliography. 557-591 Index. 10feps. Very good D/W. Dark Grey cloth boards and spine with gilt writing. Condition, as new. A very desirable copy, especially with the double E.D. signature.
- The end-paper drawings are by Lady Llanover from her 'Good Cookery' 1867. There are many wonderful illustrated drawings in text. In 1973 E.D. severed all connections with the business trading under her name. She then spent her time concentrating on study and experiments for this book. In 1976 she was awarded the OBE. Elizabeth revealed to Jill Norman in a TV documentary about her some years ago, that had she known the work entailed in this book she may never have started it in the first place. It is an impressively comprehensive study of bread and yeast from the time of first records.

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Modern category

ref number: 11006

David. Elizabeth - An association copy; from the library of Helen Morris
Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen
ELIZABETH DAVID Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen *** ENGLISH COOKING ANCIENT AND MODERN VOLUME 1 *** PENGUIN BOOKS (with the small penguin emblem in a 1cm oval border)
FIRST EDITION. 1970. Soft cover - as new. 1pp Small biography of E.D. with the signature of the author Helen Morris. [1] Title page. 1pp Dedication 'For Renee' 5-6 Contents. 7-14 Preface. 15-20 Introduction by E.D. 21-262. 263-264 Acknowledgements. 265-279 Index. [1] In excellent condition; as new. A very scarce book and rare with Morris's signature.
- This copy of E.D's book 'Spices, Salts and Aromatics --' is from the library of Helen Morris. She was the author of 'Portrait of a Chef, the Life of Alexis Soyer, Sometime Chef to the Reform Club' (1938). To several generations of postgraduates and undergraduates of King's College, Cambridge, the English literature scholar and champion of education, Helen Morris was an institution - and a hugely benevolent institution at that. For nearly four decades, the welcoming home of Christopher and Helen Morris at No 5 Merton Street, in the Newnham district of Cambridge, was the scene of innumerable parties, including regular gatherings at 11.30am on Sunday mornings. For the benefit of the young, who they felt should meet the distinguished figures of Cambridge, the Morrises would invite E.M. Forster, a regular visitor, and Noel Annan, the philosopher Richard Braithwaite, the anthropologist Meyer Fortes, the economists Nicholas Kaldor, Richard Kahn, Dick Stone, Harry Johnson and Robin Marris, the classicists Sir Frank Adcock and Patrick Wilkinson; the scientists Kenneth Harrison, T.R.C. Fox and E.S. Shire, and many others. Her husband Christopher Morris, Senior Fellow in History, author of 'Tyndale to Hooker' and many other books, one of the great Cambridge teachers of his generation, doted on Helen - and justifiably set considerable store on her opinion of people and students. Her first book, Portrait of a Chef (1938) was about Alexis Soyer, pioneer of the use of field stoves in the Crimean War and one of the originators of soup kitchens for poor people in the 19th century. Spending the Second World War as a temporary civil servant, partly in the Admiralty where her husband - whom she had married in 1933 - also served, she returned to Cambridge to bring up her family and involve herself in tuition. In 1958 she was given a full-time post at Homerton Teachers Training College, being promoted to Head of the English Department in 1960. Her colleague John Ball, lecturer in psychology and education at Homerton relates stories of her assiduous concern for her students - especially those who came without the Cambridge "ease of manner". Ball told me that he and his colleagues were amazed by the perception, detail and kindliness of the reports which she gave on students at Homerton. Her own contribution to literature re-started with her Elizabethan Literature (1958), which attracted the Home University Library. Critics regarded her interpretation of Marlowe as both accurate and in many ways original. In the early 1960s she published pamphlets on Shakespeare which were invaluable for sixth-formers - Lear in 1965, Richard II in 1966, Antony and Cleopatra in 1968 and Romeo and Juliet in 1970. Her most remarkable book was an anthology called Where's That Poem? (1967). It was really a reference book for teachers as to where they could find in British poetry references to a particular subject. Over a quarter of a century this book was revised in several editions, the last of which was in 1992 when Helen Morris was struggling with enormous courage against a myriad of illnesses and the tragedy of the premature death of their talented son, Charles. Her husband predeceased her by two years --- Helen Soutar (Morris): born Dundee 3 September 1909; married Christopher Morris 1933 - died 1993; one daughter, and one son deceased; died Cambridge 13 August 1995. Unfortunately it is not recorded what, with her perceptive intelligence, she thought of E.D. and her writings.

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Modern category

ref number: 11012

David. Elizabeth - With a small letter from E.D. with her signature.
Summer Cooking
SUMMER COOKING by ELIZABETH DAVID. LONDON MUSEUM PRESS. (With a 1" vignette of carafe and glass of wine.)
FIRST EDITION. 1955. 1fep. Half-title. [1] Title page. [1] 1pp Contents. [1] 7-10 Introduction and Acknowledgments. 11-244. 245-256 Index. 1fep. Light green cloth binding with gilt lines and lettering on spine. Internally as new. With Adrian Daintrey illustrations through out. A touch faded at the spine ends. With the rare original Adrian Daintrey d/j with slight chipping at spine ends and cover folds with little loss. Protected by a plastic cover. Also enclosed is a letter addressed to Richard C. Laade from E.D. postmarked 2.11.88. Inside the letter is a small square of paper stating 'You Must have quite a collection E.D.', also dated 2.11.88. (A little research on the web revealed that Richard Laade is/was an inveterate collector of signatures. This helps to explain the rather cryptic message and size of the letter). Also rather interestingly and unusually, Elizabeth has signed her name in very small writing on the inside of the letter as well. A very nice scarce copy that gets elevated to rare with the original d/j and the signed letter.
- Born Elizabeth Gwynne, she was of mixed English and Irish ancestry, and came from a rather grand background, growing up with three sisters in the 17th century Sussex manor house, Wootton Manor. Her parents were Rupert Gwynne, Conservative MP for Eastbourne, and the Hon. Stella Ridley who came from a distinguished Northumberland family. Her uncle, Roland Gwynne, later became Mayor of Eastbourne and may have been a lover of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams. She studied at the Sorbonne, living with a French family for two years, which led to a love of France and of food. At the age of 19, she was given her first cookery book, The Gentle Art of Cookery by Hilda Leyel, who wrote of her love with the food of the East. "If I had been given a standard Mrs Beeton instead of Mrs Leyel's wonderful recipes," she said, "I would probably never have learned to cook." Gwynne had an adventurous early life, leaving home to become an actress. She left England in 1939, when she was twenty-five, and bought a boat with her married lover Charles Gibson-Cowan intending to travel around the Mediterranean. The onset of World War II interrupted this plan, and they had to flee the German occupation of France. They left Antibes for Corsica and then on to Italy where the boat was impounded, having arrived on the day Italy declared war on Britain. They were eventually deported to Greece, then made their way to the Greek island of Syros living there for a period, where she learnt about Greek food and spent time with famous bohemians such as Lawrence Durrell. When the Germans invaded Greece they managed to flee to Crete where they were rescued by the British and evacuated to Egypt, where she lived firstly in Alexandria and eventually in Cairo. There Gwynne started work for the Ministry of Information, split from Gibson-Cowan, and eventually took on a marriage of convenience to Lieutenant-Colonel Tony David; this gave her a measure of respectability but David was a man whom she did not ultimately respect, and their relationship ended soon after an eight month posting in India. She had many lovers in the ensuing years. On her return to London in 1946, David began to write cookery articles and in 1949 the publisher John Lehmann offered her a hundred-pound advance for Mediterranean Food; the start of a dazzling writing career. David spent eight months researching Italian food in Venice, Tuscany and Capri. This resulted in Italian Food in 1954, with illustrations by Renato Guttuso, which was famously described by Evelyn Waugh in the Sunday Times as one of the two books which had given him the most pleasure that year. Many of the ingredients were unknown in England when the books were first published, and David had to suggest looking for olive oil in pharmacies where it was sold for treating earache. Within a decade, ingredients such as aubergines, saffron and pasta began to appear in shops, thanks in no small part to David's books. David gained fame, respect and high status and advised many chefs and companies. In November 1965, she opened her own shop devoted to cookery in Pimlico, London. She wrote articles for Vogue magazine, one of the first in the genre of food-travel. In 1963, when she was 49, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, possibly related to her heavy drinking. Although she recovered, it affected her sense of taste and her libido. Her other books include: * Mediterranean Food, decorated by John Minton, published by John Lehmann (1950) * French Country Cooking, decorated by John Minton, published by John Lehmann (1951) * Italian Food (1954) * French Provincial Cooking (1960) * Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen (1970) * An Omelette and a Glass of Wine (1984) * English Bread and Yeast Cookery (1977) * Harvest of the Cold Months (1994) * Many various booklets for companies and her shop .

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Modern category

ref number: 11013

David. Elizabeth - A rare E.D. Booklet.
THE USE OF WINE IN ITALIAN COOKING.
Drawn by J. Strickland-Goodall, R.I.). Author of Mediterranean Food (1950). French Country Cookery (1950). (JOHN LEHMANN).
170 x 130mm. On verso of Cover - 1p. Contents. (1) Index to Wines and Recipes. 1-19. [1]. Back page the publisher's vignette by Saccone & Speed Ltd. Front cover - delicate fine illustration of an Italian country scene. Dark cream coloured thick paper. Fine condition. Housed in a slip inside a handsome folder with marbled paper and label.
- Elizabeth David's written output was phenomenal. She published many items besides her cookery books. Including also the new stock catalogues for her shop that she did on a regular basis, many booklets (see item #11180 on this site), similar to this one about Italian wine. There is her inspired ring bound 'Cooking with Le Creuset' and her many articles published in magazines. Waking people up in the 50's and 60's to the wonderful cuisines and produce of Italy, the Mediterranean and France, she wowed people with her captivating writing style. Besides being books about cookery they were also eye-opening travelogues. Due to the dull foodstuffs available in Britain after the war, her writing was singularly, one of the most dynamic reasons people, cooks and chefs started demanding better produce be made available from those countries she wrote about. Elizabeth David was a writer who inspired deep devotion and affection. Many well known self-taught chefs and cooks started by first finding and reading her books and being inspired. Her writing should be part of the curriculum of all catering colleges for aspiring new young chefs .

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Modern category

ref number: 11014

David. Elizabeth
Italian Food
ELIZABETH DAVID BARRIE & JENKINS LONDON.
3rd Edition. 1987. Large 4to. Light grey paste-down and endpapers. Half-title. [1] Title page. [1] 1p Contents. On the verso, a re-print of Kitchen scenes from Bartolomeo Scappi's Opera. 7-16 Introduction by E.D. p16 Acknowledgements. On verso; A painting of a Kitchen. 19-224. 225-239(1) Index. Light grey paste-down and endpapers. Light grey cloth binding with silver writing on the spine and very slight fading to edges. D/J slightly rubbed at top and bottom of the spine. Internally very clean. As new.
- A very scarce edition. This is a revised reprint of the the 1954 first edition of Italian Food. In the introduction by E.D. in this copy, she states that "this 1987 edition differs from its predecessors chiefly in that revisions made over many years in the form of footnotes to recipes have now been incorporated into the main body of the text". Printed 5 years before her death, this book is not commonly known to have been published and to be directly attributable to E.D. Very scarce.

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Modern category

ref number: 11126

David. Elizabeth - With E.D's signature.
English Bread and Yeast Book
Elizabeth David English Bread and Yeast Cookery With illustrations by Wendy Jones - Allen Lane (with illustrated drawings of bread loaves)
FIRST EDITION. 1977. 8vo. Front and back paste-down and endpapers with illustrated drawings. [1] 1fep. Title page. [1] 1p Dedication Page to Jill Norman with a planche signed by the author and dated 2.11.1988. [1] (1)viii-x Contents. xi-xiv Acknowledgements. xv-xvi List of Plates. xvii-xxii Introduction. 1p History and Background. [1] 3-547. [1] (1)550-556 Bibliography. 557-591 Index. 10feps. Very good D/W. Dark Grey cloth boards and spine with gilt writing. Condition, as new. A very desirable copy, especially with the E.D. signature.
- Elizabeth David practised bread making for 15 years. In the book the first part is dedicated to flour milling and its history, on bread ovens, Assize Laws on weight, price and content of loaves. She crucially defines different types of flours available and explains distinctions between them. The second half of the book is devoted to recipes. She finally concurs with the author who wrote - 'the great thing about baking with yeast is the difficulty of failure'. It can also be said; the greatest thing about reading this book is the difficulty of not enjoying.!

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Modern category

ref number: 11140

David. Elizabeth - With a 2-page recipe typed and written by ED.
THE HARVEST OF THE COLD MONTHS.
The Social History of Ice and Ices. ELIZABETH DAVID. Edited by Jill Norman (A small publisher's device of a mermaid) MICHAEL JOSEPH. LONDON.
FIRST EDITION 1994. 240 X 165 X 35 mm. 1fep. Half-title. [1] Title Page. Verso Publisher's details. v - vi Contents. vii - vii Editor's Preface. ix - x Acknowledgements. xi - xvii Introduction. [1] 1 - 401. 402 - 403 Index. [1] 1fep. ENCLOSED: A two-page typed letter on thin paper with a large added note at the end hand-written by ED. Also enclosed is a single hand-written letter to me from Jill Norman the editor of the book and executor of ED's estate and papers. The letter confirming the recipe as ED's. Also enclosed is a folded card with a photograph of ED's grave-stone in the grounds of St. Peter's Church, Folkington, Sussex. Hard bound in dark blue cloth with silver text to spine with a fine dust-wrapper. Condition as new.
- Elizabeth David CBE, was a phenomenal writer of cookery books and able with her prose to evoke the very smells of the countries and their cuisine's. This gift inspired legions of admirers and cooks. Her books should have been called 'Great culinary travelogues with recipes'. This book about the winter months is a dense academic cum research work that still retains the interest and is also a very enjoyable read. Jill Norman has done a fantastic job to bring her friend's writing to print two years after her demise in 1992.

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Modern category

ref number: 11283