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Moffet (Muffett). Thomas - Very good condition.
Healths Improvement;
OR, Rules Comprizing and discovering The Nature, Method, and Manner of Preparing all sorts of FOOD Used in this NATION. (A single flat line) Wriiten by that ever Famous THOMAS MUFFETT, Doctor in PHYSICK: (A single flat line) Corrected and Enlarged BY CHRISTOFER BENNET, Doctor in Physick, and Fellow of the College of Physicians in London. (A single flat line) LONDON, Printed by Tho: Newcomb for Samuel Thomson, at the sign of the white Horse in Pauls Churchyard, 1655.
FIRST EDITION. Small 4to. 190 x 146 mm. 1fep. Title page. [2] Imprimatur page. (1)2-8 The Table. 2pages To the Reader. 1-296. 1 fep. Full dark brown sheep. Blind tooling to covers and spine. Gilt lettering and red leather label with gilt lines. A very light small water stain on upper corner of the title page and next four pages, not affecting text, otherwise, almost as new. Some occasional marginalia in a neat hand. Many bibliographical sources printed in margins. An exceptionally nice clean copy of a very scarce book.
- There exists a varied number of ways that Muffett (as spelled in this edition) is written. Cagle shows at least six ways. He also states Moffett is preferred by NUC, Mouffet by BMC, and Muffett by BNC. For the sake of filing them together on this site, I have used the later 'Moffet'. In an interesting historical thesis featuring Thomas Muffett, written and posted online by Christopher A. DeAngelo of Haverford College, PA, USA, who starts his dissertation with the famous poem:- “Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet / Eating her curds and whey / Along came a big spider / And sat down beside her / And frightened Miss Muffet away!”. Mr DeAngelo further states; "Thomas Muffet, the 16th century English natural philosopher, is best known today for the above nursery rhyme. He apparently wrote it about his daughter. Some people have even suggested that the poem refers to Muffet’s experiments on his daughter with spiders, which led to her being deathly afraid of them for the rest of her life. Despite the wide acceptance of these claims, there is no historical evidence to support any of them. Whether or not Muffett had anything to do with the actual writing of the poem, it is undeniably linked to him. The poem includes two concrete allusions to Muffett’s work. The spider is a direct reference to Muffett’s ‘Theatrum Insectorum’, in which the largest section deals with the classification of spiders. The curds and whey come straight out of ‘Healths Improvement’, where Muffett named curds and whey (both milk products) as essential to a good diet". Thomas Moffett was born in 1553 and died in 1604, so it must be assumed that the Christofer Bennet mentioned in the title page of ‘Healths Improvement’ who corrected and enlarged the book, was the first one to edit Muffett’s manuscript notes. One must then wonder how much he added and what exactly is Muffett’s original work. Whatever the truth, this is a very interesting work. It is also the first work to list British wild fowl and to comment on their migrations.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11232

Skuse. E. - Fantastic original condition; as new.
Practical Confectioner.
[10th Edition.] Copy-Right.] [Price 7/6, Postage 4d. SKUSE’S COMPLETE CONFECTIONER A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE ART OF SUGAR BOILING IN ALL ITS BRANCHES THE MANUFACTURE OF FONDANTS, CREAMS, CHOCOLATES, PASTILLES, JUJUBES (GELATINE AND GUM), COMFITS, LOZENGES, (PLAIN AND MEDICATED), CARAMELS, NOVEAUS, NOUGATS, JAP NUGGETS,PRALINES, &c., ICE CERAMS AND ICES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION, JAMS, JELLIES AND MARMALDES (BY FIRE AND STEAM) CONCENTRATED TABLE AND JELLIES, PRESERVED AND CRYSTALISED FRUITS, CANDIED PEEL., &C. ENGLISH AND SCOTCH PASTRY. (single line) All Information Respecting Colours and Flavours: the best to use and how to use them. (single line) USEFUL NOTES ON MACHINERY FOR EVERY PURPOSE. (single line) PUBLISHED BY W.J. BUSH & CO., LTD,. ASH GROVE, HACKNEY, LONDON.
220 x 149 mm. Front inside pastedown with Advertisements. Title page. Verso with Advertisements. 1p Preface. 7p well illustrated Advertisements. 1-213. (1)215-222 Index. Plain back pastedown. The text highlighted by many nice illustrations and all recipes and chapters with large bold heading. Original dark brown cloth cover with black blind tooling in the art nouveau style. In immaculate condition. Circa 1900.
- This book is very interesting to the student or collector of all aspects of the special skills of the Patissier, Boulangier, Chocolatier, Sugarworker and Sweet-makers etc. A glance at the title page is a glimpse of the full Victorian sweets repertoire. Then the industrial revolution happened and took the sweets of the home-cook into the factories. Mass production methods revolutionised sweet-making from the 1860s onwards. Specialised machines were the key to the new confectionery industry in Britain and America, and new technology remains a central concern of the modern confectionery business. Chocolate enrobing machines, almond blanchers, coconut graters, lollipop makers -- there was a specially designed machine for every one of the finicky jobs involved in sweet-making, and manuals such as Skuse's Complete Confectioner showcased the latest contraptions, such as the caramel machines. Commercial sweet-making is still veiled in secrecy, because individual machines are often customised to create that special new sweet. Unfortunately the end result of all the endeavour is the modern packed sweet-shops, obese children, rampant diabetes and a steep decline in home baking. Never the less, this is a fascinating book, not only for the recipes, the good illustrations, but the advertisements that show the sweet-makers equipment. This book gives a feeling of feverish industrial activity. An important item for any serious cookbook collection. Originally published London, 1890. The BL only records an 11th ed of 1911. Bitting an 11th as well. Cagle has a 10th and states no other recorded. Rare.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11233

Soyer. Alexis Benoit - Selling his wife's paintings.
A letter handwritten & signed by Soyer.
to an unidentified correspondent, detailing two items in a catalogue of paintings [not present].
2 pages. 8vo. Full cream coloured sheet 228 x 182 mm. Folded 115 x 182 mm. A full sheet folded in half with a slight split at the bottom of the fold. It is in a very clear and legible condition. Dated Nov. 23rd 1857. Soyer writes “Dear Sir I beg to send herewith a calogue of my paintings you will find the Two sent you marked Nos…. & … In centre, or rather between the two you might insert “Youth & Age” & describe them in the usual place viz. At the bottom as per catalogue – I remain Dear Sir Yours faithfully A Soyer.“ Housed in a very fine handmade slip case with a label on the front cover.
- The Wikipedia entry for Emma [Jones] Soyer is worth repeating here, to help put the letter in a context. To quote -- The daughter of a Mr. Jones who died in 1818, she was born in London in 1813, and was carefully instructed in French, Italian, and music. At a very early age she became a pupil of F. Simoneau the painter, who in 1820 married her mother, Mrs. Jones. Finding that Emma had talents for drawing, Simoneau ultimately devoted the whole of his time to her instruction, and before the age of twelve she had drawn more than a hundred portraits from life with surprising fidelity. On 12 April 1837 she married Alexis Soyer the cook. She now turned her attention to portraits in oil, and, with her master, traveled in the provinces and gained great popularity. Upon her return to London she produced 'The Blind Boy,' 'The Crossing Sweeper,' 'The Bavarians,' 'Taglioni and the Kentish Ceres.' In 1842 she completed her last work, 'The Two Organ Boys.' She also showed two paintings at the 1842 Paris Salon ('L'aveugle de la tour de Londres' and 'Portrait de M. Soyer' - Nos. 1729-30). Her portrait famous of Soyer was also engraved by Henry Bryan Hall. On 29–30 Aug. 1842 she had complications with her pregnancy, owing to fright produced by a terrible thunderstorm, and she died the same night at her residence near Charing Cross, London. She was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, London on 8 September, where her husband erected a sumptuous monument to her memory. Between 1823 and 1843 fourteen of her pictures were exhibited at the Royal Academy, thirty-eight at the British Institution, and fourteen at the Suffolk Street Gallery (Graves, Dictionary of Artists, pp. 130, 221). In June 1848 one hundred and forty of her works were exhibited at the Prince of Wales's bazaar, under the name of Soyer's Philanthropic Gallery, on behalf of the Spitalfields soup kitchen, and a catalogue was printed. Among these pictures was 'The Young Savoyards Resting,' a work that obtained for Madame Soyer the name of the 'English Murillo.' Two of her paintings - 'The Jew Lemon Boys' and 'The English Ceres,' were engraved by Gérard. In Paris, where many of her pictures were exhibited, her reputation stood higher than in her native country - unquote. The paintings to which Alexis Benoist Soyer (4 February 1810 – 5 August 1858) refers to, are most likely those created by his late wife. This letter is written less than 9 months before his death and fifteen years after Emma’s. He must have inherited all of her artistic output and possibly had a catalogue printed to sell them. Indications are that Soyer was not careful with money. This makes sense as he left only £1500 at his death. A rum distiller called David Hart succeeded in taking all the cash and Soyer's personal papers in lieu of an unpaid debt. He destroyed all the papers and notes. Because of that short-sighted and selfish action, any signed or manuscript notes in Soyer's hand are extremely rare. Only rare letters like this one here, owned by a third party are likely to come onto market.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11234

SKEATS, B.C.A. A.C. EDITOR. - 2 volumes in fine condition.
COMMERCIAL CONFECTIONARY
A Practical Guide for Practical Men BY MANY EXPERT CONTRIBUTORS. Edited by A.C. SKEATS, B.C.A. Lavishly Illustrated in Colour and in Black-and-White a VOLUME 1 THE GRESHAM PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 66 Chandos Street, Covent Garden, London 1937.
FIRST & SOLE EDITION. 4to. VOL.1. 1fep. ½ Title on Verso Frontispiece of Confectionary display. Title page. [1] 2p Contributors. 1p Preface. [1]1p Introductions. [1] (1)-xii Contents. Volume 1. (1)–xv List of Plates. [1] (1)2-130. (1) -132 Index to Volume 1. 1fep. Internaly very clean – like new. Thick-glossy paper. Dark Green cloth covers and spine. Blind-tooling on front cover with fresh clean gilt tooling on the spine. VG - Like new. VOL 2. 1fep. ½ Title on Verso Frontispiece of Confectionary display. Title page. [1] 1p Contributors. [1] (1)-vii Contents. Volume 1. (1)x-xi List of Plates. [1] (1)2-133. [1] (1)136-139 Index to Volume 11. [1] 1fep. Internaly very clean – like new. Thick-glossy paper. Dark Green cloth covers and spine. Blind-tooling on front cover with fresh clean gilt tooling on the spine. VG - Like new.
- This is a fantastic professional’s book. A.C.Skeats and nine experts, most of them Gold Medallists in Bakery, Icing & piping, Gateaux, Petit Gateaux, Wedding cakes, Meringue goods, Afternoon teas, Pork pies, Slab cakes, Pastry, Bake-house management, Fermented goods, Almond goods & Biscuits & even an expert on Catering Costings for small bakeries, Outdoor wedding receptions etc etc it is hard to find any aspect of the Trade that is missing. With 99 plates in the 2 volumes, it is also handsomely illustrated. A seminal work, put together by Skeats and his experienced writers, He explains that there are training centres available for all the tradesmen to learn the craft skills of the Confectionary and Bakery trades., although he and his team of contributors realised there was a large need by the tradesman who could not afford nor get the time to attend the training schools. A fine work that one imagines all professional Bakers, Confectioners & Pastry Chefs would buy. Printed in 1937, two years before the War, which subsequently resulted in a serious shortage of many of the ingredients listed. One wonders how many of those skilled tradesman volunteered to fight and never returned back to resume their trade or places of work. A very fine set.

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Modern category

ref number: 11235

Murrell. John - Rare early edition.
Mvrrels Tvvo Books of Cookerie and Carving.
1st TITLE PAGE: (a straight line) The fifth time printed with Additions. (a straight line) LONDON, Printed by M.F. for John Mar-riot, and are to be sold at his Shop in Saint Dunstans Church-yard in Fleet-street. 1638. The text surrounding by a double line border. 2nd TITLE PAGE: THE SECOND BOOKE OF COOKERIE. (a straight line) VVherein is set forth the newest and most commendable Fashion of Dressing, Boyling, Sowcing, or Roast-ing, all manner either Fleash, Fish, or any kinde of Fowle. (a straight line) Together with an exact order of ma-king Kickshawes, or made-dishes, of any fashion, fit to beautifie either Noble-mans or Gentle-mans Table. (a straight line) All set forth according to the new English or French fashion. BY JOHN MURRELL. (a straight line) The fifth Impression. (a straight line) LONDON, Printed for John Marriot, and are to be sold at his Shop in Saint Dun-stans Church-yard. 1638. THE THIRD TITLE PAGE: A NEVV BOOKE OF CARVING AND SEVVING. (a straight line) A small printers device. (a straight line) LONDON. Printed by M.F. for John Marriot, and are to be sold at his Shop in Saint Dunstans Churchyard in Fleetstreet. 1638.
8vo. 1 fep with ink inscription –“Mary Freeman her Book 1715” on front free end-paper, the same, but dated “1733” on verso. 3 Title pages. First title within double rule border. [1] 2nd x 1st title page [1]. 2 pages The Epistle Dedicatorie. 1-82. 2nd Title Page [1]. 85-148. 3rd Title Page [1]. 151-188. 13 pages of Tables [1]. 1 fep. Text in black letter script with woodcuts and typographical head-pieces and ornaments in-text. Front and back covers with no paste-downs. Showing original leather edging. Light age yellowing, margins of title page fractionally dusty, small section torn away from blank lower margin of M4 with loss of signature letter, minuscule wormhole in upper margin, occasional marginal thumb mark. Crisp and clean in contemporary dark brown calf, covers bordered with triple blind rule, ink stain to upper cover, spine ends worn. A very good unsophisticated copy.
- This fifth edition is probably the original second edition with new editions of this hugely important and fascinating cookery book. One of only a handful of surviving copies of any of the early editions, and one of the first cookbooks to establish cookery as a fashion, rather than simply a practical guide to running a kitchen/household. The work is divided into three parts, each with its own title page, the first two on new recipes for cooking, and the third “a New Booke of Carving and Sewing”(The medieval translation for sewing is serving). The prefaces, and its dedications, are to Mrs Martha Hayes in the first book and to Lady Browne in the second. The Author disparages previous cookery books “the most of which nevertheless have instructed rather how to marre than to make good Meate”. Murrell’s work was new, in that it established a new spirit of cookery and promises it is set forth in the English and French Fashion . He openly appeals to “London Cookery” rather than to provincial cookery. Murrell included many recipes he brought back from his experience of the new cuisine emerging in France. Unfortunately, the complete absence of any new French cookery books between 1560 and 1650 leaves a gap in our knowledge of the pre-La Varenne phase of development. In the third part of his book, Murrell also re-published sections of the first printed carving manual in English, “The Boke of Kervyne” of 1513. Though he reclaims carving as a task suitable for wives in aspiring ‘gentle’ households, he groups it with what he declares to be the most current and chic methods of cooking. In some ways Murrell’s use of this older carving manual seems a nostalgic throwback to an older style of hospitality, which he compares both negatively and positively to the new French methods. Despite its disdain for tradition, Murrell’s work includes many of the classics of British and French cooking recognizable today, including such things as rice pudding (though his recipe calls for the inclusion of ‘the smallest guts of a hog’). It also includes recipes using new world produce such as Turkey. Murrell's 'Book of Cookerie' is particularly rare in any edition; Only a handful of copies are known. STC 18303 recording only 3 copies in the UK and Folger and Library of Congress in the US. The first edition is known only by a sub-title at the Bodlein and the New York Public Library copy. No other edition is recorded. Bitting 336. Hull, ‘Chaste, Silent and Obedient.’ pp. 43-4, 187-88. Not in Vicaire, Oberle, or Alden.L1353. Scarce indeed!

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11236

Ranhofer. Charles - A monumental American classic.
The Epicurean.
A COMPLETE TREATISE OF ANALYTICAL AND PRACTICAL STUDIES ON THE CULINARY ART INCLUSING Table and Wine Service, How to Prepare and Cook Dishes, and Index for Marketing, a Great Variety of Bills of Fare for Breakfasts, Luncheons, Dinners, Suppers, Ambigus,. Buffets, etc., and a Selection of Interesting Bills of Fare of Delmonico's. From 1862 to 1894. MAKING A FRANCO-AMERICAN CULINARY ENCYCLOPEDIA By CHARLES RANHOFER, FORMER CHEF OF DELMONICO'S, Honorary President of the "Societe Culinaire Philanthropique" of New York. (single straight line) ILLUSTRATED WITH 800 PLATES. (single straight line underneath). JOHN WILLY, PUBLISHER 443 SOUTH DEARBORN STREET CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A.
Copyright 1920. 280 x 210 mm x 90 mm thick. Original paper design in front paste down and fep. 2 extra feps. Frontispiece of Charles Ranhofer with elaborate design and Ranhofer’s facsimile signature. Wonderful ornate etched extra title page with tissue guard. [1] 2nd Title page. [1] (1)viii Preface. Facsimile Delmonico’s letter signed by Ranhofer dated Feby [sic] 24th 1893. [1] 1 page Contents with etching of Table service on verso. 1page Table service. [1] (1)2-1137. 1page Additional Recipes. (1)1140-1183 Index. [1] Original paper design in back paste down and last fep. 800 plates in-text. Original dark brown boards and spine with Art Deco embossed design on front cover and spine. In fantastic clean original state.
- Charles Ranhofer, born November 7, 1836 in Saint-Denis, France, died October 9, 1899 in New York. He was the famous Chef at the equally famous Delmonico's Restaurant in New York from 1862 to 1876 and 1879 to 1896. Author of The Epicurean, first edition 1894, a massive compendium of menus, techniques, terminology and recipes, written after his retirement. Similar in scope to Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire, but with the plates and in-text etchings, closer in style to Urbain Dubois’ monumental works. Ranhofer was sent to Paris at the age of 12 to begin his training as a commis Patissiere, and unbelievably, at 16, became the private Chef for the Prince d'Hénin comte d'Alsace. In 1856 he moved to New York to become the Chef to the Russian consul, and later worked in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans. He returned to France in 1860 for a short time, where he arranged balls for the court of Napoleon III at the Tuileries Palace, but then came back to New York to work at what was then a fashionable location; Maison Dorée. In 1862, Lorenzo Delmonico hired him for Delmonico's, and it was there that Ranhofer achieved real fame, and made the world-renowned reputation of the restaurant as well. At that time, Delmonico's was considered the finest restaurant in the United States and abroad. He was the Chef de Cuisine at Delmonico's until his retirement in 1896, except for a short hiatus from 1876 and 1879 when he owned the "Hotel American" at Enghien-les-Bains, a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris. Ranhofer is credited with inventing or making famous a number of dishes that Delmonico's was known for, such as Lobster Newberg. Named in honour of sea captain Ben Wenberg, but then renamed, when Wenberg had a falling-out with the Restaurant. He had, like Escoffier, a talent for naming dishes after famous or prominent people, particularly guests of Delmonico's. He also experimented with new foods, one of which he acquainted New Yorker's with, was the "alligator pear" (avocado) in 1895. Ranhofer's creativity and pursuit of excellence had very few peers in the history of haute cuisine. Delmonico’s boasted a guest list that included Charles Louis Napoleon, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Queen Victoria, Walter Scott and Lillian Russell, amongst many others, drawn to its reputation for fine food and it’s famous Chef. Ranhofer and his wife Rose had five children: three sons and two daughters. He died at home of Bright's Disease and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, in the Bronx NY.

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Modern category

ref number: 11237

Brillat-Savarin. Jean Anthelme - Nice small 2 volume set.
Physiologie du Gout.
VOL -1. - A printers device of a small star. A banner with SOL.VTE. BIBLIOTHEQUE UNIVERSELLE LEMERRE [a single line] BRILLAT-SAVARIN [a small single line] Physiologie du Gout Notice par Armand Rio TOME PREMIER. A small printers device. PARIS LIBRAIRE APLPHONSE LEMERRE. 23-33 PASSAGE CHOISEUL 23-33. VOL - 2. - BIBLIOTHEQUE UNIVERSELLE LEMERRE [a single line] BRILLAT-SAVARIN [a small single line] Physiologie du Gout Notice par Armand Rio TOME SECOND. A small printers device. PARIS LIBRAIRE APLPHONSE LEMERRE. 23-33 PASSAGE CHOISEUL 23-33.
VOL 1. 1fep marbled. Original grey card covers. [1] 1fep. Half-title. [1] Title page. [1] (1)6-12 Notice. (1)14-15 Aphorisms du Professeur. (1)17-249. [1] (1)254-256 Table. 1fep. Grey original back cover. 1fep Marbled. VOL 2. 1fep marbled. Original grey card covers. [1] 1fep. Half-title. [1] Title page. [1] (1)8-248 (1)250-253 Table. 1fep. Grey original back cover. 1fep Marbled. Both volumes 147 x 100 mm. N/D Circa 1930. Light blue pebbled leather covers, Dark blue leather corners and spines. Raised bands with intricate gilt tooling and text. Gilt devices in the compartments. A very fine leather bound set with curiously, the complete original books bound within. In very good condition thoughout.
- Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, born 1st April 1755, Belley, Ain, died 2nd February 1826, Paris, was a French lawyer and politician, and gained fame as an epicure and gastronome. He and Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière, also a lawyer and writer, between them, effectively founded the whole genre of the gastronomic essay. Brillat-Savarin famous book carries his equally famous gastronomic aphorisms. The seven below give a sense of his fine observations…. 1. Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are. 2. Taste, which enables us to distinguish all that has a flavor from that which is insipid. 3. The German Doctors say that persons sensible of harmony have one sense more than others. 4. The sense of smell, like a faithful counsellor, foretells its character. 5. The senses are the organs by which man places himself in connexion with exterior objects. 6. A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye. 7. The discovery of a new dish confers more happiness on humanity, than the discovery of a new star. 8. Alcohol carries the pleasures of the palate to their highest degree. His famous work, Physiologie du goût (The Physiology of Taste), was published in December 1825, two months before his death. It went on to be printed by countless companies and is one of the key items in any cookery collection, in any language.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11238

Smith. L.O. - A fascinating professional Chef's reference.
EXHIBITION GOODS,
by L.O.Smith. Publishedby MACLAREN & SONS LTD. STAFFORD HOUSE, NORFOLK STREET, LONDON, W.C.2
259 x 159 mm. n/d. 1fep. Half Title. [2] Frontispiece. Title page. [1] 1p Contents. [1] (1)viii – x. (1)xii. (1)2 – 355. [1] 358 – 360 Index. 1fep. Text block very clean, as new. Thick good quality paper. Maroon leather cover and spine with blind tooling. In excellent overall condition.
- This is a very interesting book from the professional chefs point of view. Many chefs take a huge pride in their skills and the best are always watching and learning, always on the look out for new ways and new equipment for improving their everyday skills. This type of passion drives all the best people in their various fields of endeavour. This book is all about advice for the best ways and skills needed to win the coveted gold medals at culinary exhibitions for Bakery and Confectionary. These are just two branches of many other areas of the very large Kitchens. Stunning displays of hand-crafted exhibits that will include works in pulled and blown sugar, chocolate work, pastillage and fat sculpture, as well as vibrant buffets, with Pates, decorated meats, fish and shellfish, food platters etc etc, that showcase the incredible skills within the industry. The International Salon Culinaire at Hotelympia is the UK's largest and most prestigious chef competition programme, and will incorporate 80 classes plus, over the course of four days each year in March. A programme of classes for chefs at the start of their career (apprentices, students and those new to competitions), which will enable them to hone and demonstrate the skills that will be vital to their career such as fish filleting, butchery, knife skills, preparing classical sauce etc, plus the Skills Theatre will also include some service competitions that will challenge front of house staff. A fast paced series of hot live classes, in which chefs will compete in a variety of competitions from preparing a three course menu, to putting a new twist on classic ingredients, creating a show-stopping dessert or racing against the clock to cook and display a contemporary pasta dish, plus many more.

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Modern category

ref number: 11239

Dolby Richard - The best edition.
THE COOK’S DICTIONARY, AND HOUSEKEEPER’S DIRECTORY:
A NEW FAMILY MANUAL OF COOKERY AND CONFECTIONARY, ON A PLAN OF READY REFERENCE NEVER HITHERTO ATTEMPTED. BY RICHARD DOLBY, LATE COOK AT THE THACHED HOUSE TAVERN, ST. JAMES’S STREET. NEW EDITION, CARFULLY REVISED; INCLUDING NUMEROUS NEW RECIEPTS, THE MOST APPROVED MODERN BILLS OF FARE, AND FASHIONABLE PLANS FOR LAYING OUT THE TABLE. LONDON: HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. [a small single line] 1833.
223 x 143 mm. 3rd Edition. 1fep. [1] Frontispiece. Title page. Half-title. [3] [1] 2p Advertisement to first and second editions. [1] 7p. Table layouts in Green. 4p. Bills of Fare. (1)2-552. 2p. Explanation. 7 p. Articles in Season. [1] 2p. Opinions of the press. 2feps. Frontispiece and title page slightly dusty. Text block slightly age browned. Half crimson calf with crimson tips and marbled paper. Spine with raised bands, gilt text and dentelles in the compartments.
- An interesting and alphabetically arranged presentation of early nineteenth century English domestic cuisine, compiled by chef Richard Dolby of the Thatched-House Tavern on St. James Street. At the time his book was a popular domestic reference. It contains several thousand entries and many recipes for cooking, baking, and brewing that had never before appeared in print. Featuring a glossary of cooking terms, and a number of alphabetical tables listing fish, crustaceans, fowl, fruit and vegetables when in season. First published in 1830 with a second edition appearing in 1832 and this last one printed in 1833 and also being the fullest and best edition. In researching the book, I came across a site online called ‘Grammerphobia’, described as Grammar, etymology, usage, and more, brought to you by Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman. It had an article entitled “Who put the Duck in Duck Sauce”. Following the logic of the question from Chinese recipes to Chinese American Cuisine to the classic French cooking, the question of the classic Duck Sauce Bigerade came about. It went on to explain; “One recipe for roast duckling appears under three names; Usually known as Duckling with Orange sauce or Duckling à l’Orange or Duckling à la Bigarade. Bigarade originally meant the orange itself, but in the 19th century it also came to mean a sauce made with bigarade oranges, served particularly with Roast Duck. Oxford’s first citation for the word used in this sense is from an 1833 edition of The Cook’s Dictionary, and House-Keeper’s Directory, by Richard Dolby. A recipe in the book for fillets of wild duck à l’orange advises; Arrange them in a dish, and serve with bigarade sauce under them. The sauce calls for the rind of a Seville orange. It also says that wild ducks should be fresh. If not fresh, on opening the beak they will smell disagreeable”. In researching Carrot Cake as well, I discovered the recipe in Richard Dolby’s book is an almost exact copy of the recipe ‘Gateaux de Carottes’ from ‘The Art of French Cookery’ written in 1827 by the famous French Chef A.B. Beauvillier’s. One wonders how many other recipes in Dolby’s book have been plagiarised. Further research is needed. --- Axford p.98. Bitting p.126. Oxford p. 164. Cagle p. 457.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11240

Pellaprat. Henri-Paul - The scarce 1st edition from the French Master.
La Patisserie Pratique
RECUEIL DE RECETTES DE PATISSERIE, CONFISERIE, GLACES FORMANT UN GUIDE PRATIQUE A L'USAGE DES MAITRESSES DE MAISON BOURGEOISE CUISINIERS ET CUISINIERES PAR HENDRI PELLAPRAT Professeur de l'Enseignement Superieur aux Cours et du Cordon-Blue BIBLIOTHEQUE DU JOURNAL * LE CORDON BLUE 129, Fabourg Saint-Honore. 129 PARIS.
FIRST EDITION. n/d circa 1910. 228 x 140 mm. 1fep. Title page with a border and a banner at the top enclosing Pellaprat’s initials. [1] 1p Preface. 1p Avant Propos. (1)6 – 230. (1)232 – 237 Table des Matieres. [1] 1fep. Very lightly age browned through out but overall very good. Red cover with the original back and front covers and spine sympathetically re-laid, with the original black text tooling.
- Henri-Paul Pellaprat born Saint-Maur-des-Fossés 1869, died 1954 was a French chef, and founder with the journalist Marthe Distel, of Le Cordon Bleu school in Paris. He was the author of ‘La cuisine familiale et pratique’ and other classic French cookery texts. He worked from the age of twelve as a pastry boy then cook at many of the most famous restaurants of the La Belle Époque period in Paris, such as the Maison Dorée. As time passed, he realized that his real calling was teaching and he accepted a professorship at Le Cordon Bleu. He taught at the school for forty years. Those who attended the courses in the early years of this century had the privilege of learning French cuisine from one of the recognised great master chefs of the day. Two of his students included Maurice Edmond Sailland, later known as Curnonsky, and Raymond Oliver. During this time he wrote his master-work ‘L'Art Cullinaire Modern’e. It was translated into five languages, and appeared in English as ‘The Great Book of French Cookery’. It was hailed as the most comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date book on French cooking and gastronomy ever written. As an author and teacher, Pellaprat did much to consolidate Le Cordon Bleu's position as the world's leading cookery school, and the tributes paid to his books echo the importance given to the school, which was setting standards and teaching classic French cuisine to an ever-growing number of graduates. Rosemary Hume, who later went on to found "Ecole du Petit Cordon Bleu" in London trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris under Henri-Paul in the 1920s.

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Modern category

ref number: 11241