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GELLEROY. William First edition with the large folded frontispiece of the King's dinner.
THE LONDON COOK
OR The whole ART of COOKERY made easy and familiar. CONTAING A great Number of approved and practical RECEIPTS in every Branch of Cookery. VIZ. Chap. 1. Of Soups, Broths and Gravy.11I. Of Pancakes, Fritters, Possets, Tanseys, &c. 111. Of Fish. 1V. Of Boiling. V. Of Roasting. V1. Of Made-Dishes. V11. Of Poultry and Game. V111. Sauces for Poultry and Game. (with two up and down separating parallel lines) 1X. Sauces for Butcher's Meat, &c. X. Of Puddings. X1. Of Pies, Custards, and Tarts, &c. X11. Of Sausages, Hogs-Puddings, &c. V111. Of Potting and Collaring. X1V. Of Pickles. XV. Of Creams, Jellies, &c. XV1. Of made wine. (a single horizontal line) By WILLIAM GELLEROY, Late Cook to her Grace the Dutchess [sic] of Argyle. And now to the Right Hon. Sir Samuel Fludger, Bart. Lord Mayor of the City of London. (a single horizontal line). To which is prefixed, A large Copper-Plate, representing his Majesty's Table, with its proper Removes, as it was served at Guild-Hall, on the 9th of November last, being the Lord Mayor's Day when His Majesty, and the Royal Family, did the City the Honour to dine with them, and wrere highly pleased with their Entertainment. (two single horizontal lines). LONDON: Printed for S. Crowder, and Co. at the Looking-Glass; J. Coote, at the King's-Arms, in Pater-noster Row; and J. Fletcher, St. Paul's Church-Yard. MDCCLX11.
FIRST EDITION. 1762. 8vo, 195 x 118 mms. 1 fep. Frontis of a large folding engraved plate measuring 260 x 340mm, of His Majesty's Table at the Guild Hall on Wednesday 9th November 1762, repaired on verso. Title Page. [1] (1)-iv. To the reader. 4p King & Queen & Royal Families Banquet dishes. (14) Contents. (1)2-486. 2p Advertisements. 1fep. Contemporary speckled brown calf rebacked. Raised bands between gilt rules on spine. Black morocco label. A very good copy.
- A.W. Oxford thinks this is a very good book and commends it for being the first for having a modest preface. Fortunately it has the large folded plate of the King's table as the frontispiece. It appears from auction and dealer's records that it is often missing. William Gelleroy describes himself on the title-page as "Late Cook to her Grace the Dutchess [sic] of Argyle. And now to the Right Hon. Sir Samuel Fludger, Bart. Lord Mayor of the City of London." "Fludger" is in fact Sir Samuel Fludyer (1704 - 1768), one of London's foremost merchants who left an estate valued at £900,000 at his death; an astonishing £176,623,969 in 2020. (we can assume that Gelleroy must have been well paid) There are in his book a number of curious recipes. For example, Lambs Ears fried: "Take twelve lambs ears, prepared as mentioned in the Bechamel of lambs ears; when drained and wiped dry, fill the insides with a fine force-meat, roll them in the yolks of beaten eggs, and strew them with the crumbs of grated bread; fry them of a fine brown in hogs-lard, and serve them with a brown coullis sauce, and the juice of an orange or lemon." From the Cookery book collection of Ruth Watson. A very scarce book. ESTC T63887; Bitting p.179; Maclean p.56; Oxford p. 92; Simon BG 740.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11292

ANON. - Two instruction manuals, one old and rare; one modern.
ITEM 1. NAPKIN FOLDING: ITEM 2. THE BEAUTY OF THE FOLD.
ITEM 1. Series of Fully Illustrated Original Designs. Printed by Newton and Eskell. 1891. Full-page diagrams throughout with facing letterpress description with forty-nine designs including: The True-Lovers' Knot; The Cockle-Shell; The Lady Betty Balfour; The Turkey-Cock Tail; The Spill-Box; The Four-Pointed Fan; The Duplex Vase; and The Opera Glasses. ITEM 2. THE BEAUTY OF THE FOLD. A Conversation with Joan Sallas. Edited by Charlotte Birnhaum. Sternberg Press. ON THE TABLE SERIES.
ITEM 1. SOLE EDITION. 4to. Inside cover advertisements for Newton & Eskell publications. (1)List of designs. Verso Advert for Alfred Suzanne's Egg Cookery. No title page (not-proven, if one is called for). (1)Napkin Folding. 6-103. Each verso with explanation of Napkin shapes. Opposite page with each Napkin diagram. Last 3 pages + inside cover: Advertisements for Newton & Eskell publications. Covers are very lightly dusted. A very small damp stain to the top of the covers. Very light staining to the last two pages. Back cover advert for 'The Caterer and Hotel-keeper.' Publisher's cloth-backed printed boards. Spine re-backed with dark green cloth spine. Overall a very nice item. ITEM 2. FIRST EDITION. 2012. 183 x 113mm. 2feps (one with publisher's details. Title page. 1p Contents. [1] 7-9 Forward. On the verso; 2 b/w photographs of a huge feature from a 1677 folding manual. 11-27. [1] 2nd Title page. 30-86. The b/w photographs of folding techniques. [1] Verso with Advertisements. 1fep. Hard cardboard cream covers with decoration and text in maroon. Condition as new.
- ITEM 1. Napkin folding is most commonly encountered (but less often nowadays) as an elaborate table decoration in fancy restaurants. Although the modern trend is for clean, unstarched, simply folded white cloths, that have had the minimum of handling, giving a sense of good conscious health and safety awareness. It is now becoming quite rare to see the elaborate folded fantasies of the past. Typically, and for best results, a clean, pressed, well-starched square cloth (linen or cotton) napkin was used. There were many variations in napkin folding in which a rectangular napkin, or a napkin ring, a glass, or even multiple napkins may have been used. The earliest instruction manual for the artistic folding of napkins was published in 1639 by Matthia Gieger, a German meat carver working in Padua. It was part of a series of treatises on the culinary arts titled 'Le Tre Trattati'. Napkin folding has a centuries-old history and dates back to the times of Louis XIV of France (1638 – 1715), also known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (le Roi-Soleil). He was the monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1643 until his death. The shift of the napkin from simply a folded cloth to a folded creative object occurred in 16th century Florence, Italy around the same time as voluminous clothing, such as ballooned sleeves, had become fashionable among the wealthy. Rather than simply laying a tablecloth flat on a table, starched linens were folded into large centre-pieces, called "triumphs," that could depict a variety of real and mythical animals, natural elements and architectural forms. (See item 1098 on this book-site, titled, 'Roger, Earl of Castlemaine's Embassy' by Michael Wright to get a sense of the amazing "triumphs" made from sculpted sugar pastilliage). A popular gift wedding guests received during this time was a personally folded napkin that distinguished whether they were related to the bride or groom. In the mid-18th century, table setting practices were so specific that in Germany there were particular traditions on how to fold napkins, display figures at the table and arrange plate. During this golden age of napkin folding, there was a school in Nuremberg devoted entirely to this art and butlers had shelves of instructional books to keep up with the changes in the field. Napkin folding in the form of table sculptures began being replaced by porcelain decorations during the 18th century. When I was in the Catering school in the early 1960's we students used to enjoy learning new shapes of folded napkin fantasies. Another age another time. ITEM 2. Features German master Joan Sallas, whose folded napkins graced the Metropolitan Museum's exhibit of 1780 Viennese royal table silver. (Watch him fold a ''water lily'' napkin on YouTube.) A virtuoso of the fold, has meticulously researched and mastered the history and techniques of the art of the fold. With the banquet table as a setting, his expertise and philosophy pour forth in the form of splendid, folded linen. In this precious book, Sallas shares his folding wisdom, which editor Charlotte Birnbaum contextualizes in two essays on the history of napkin folding. The texts are accompanied by an illustrated catalogue of folding techniques. A fascinating little book and a good accompaniment

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11293

de Bonnefons. Nicolas An important milestone in the development of French Cuisine.
LE JARDINIER FRANCOIS.
QUI ENSEIGNE A CULTIVER les Arbres, & Herbes Potagers; Avec la maniere de conserver les Fruits, & fairetoutes fotes de Confritures, Conserves, & Massepains. DIEDE AUX DAMES. DIXIEME EDITION. Augmentee par l'autheur de plusients ex-periences qu'il a faites. [a printer's colophon] A PARIS, Chez NICOLAS LE GRAS, au troi-sieme Pillier de Grand'Salle, du Palais a L, couronnee. [a single long line] M. DC. LXXXIV. AVEC PERMISSION.
1684. Thick 8vo. 1 fep. Book Title page outlining the 3 Tomes. Tome 1: Le Jardinier François. [the French Gardener]. Title page. [1] Epistre aux Dames 10p.Preface 5p. [2] Frontispiece of a garden scene. 1-309. 6p. (miss-numbered) The Table. Tome 2. Les Delices de la Campagne. . [the Delights of the Countryside]. [1] Frontispiece of Garden workers. [1] Epistre aux Dames 4p. Preface 2p. [1] 2nd Frontispiece of a Baker. Title page. 2-321. 322-328 The Table. Title page: Tome 3. La Maniere de Cultiver des Arbres Fruiterers. [the Way of Cultivating Fruit Trees]. [1] Dedication 2p. Preface 22p. 1-126. [1] 2nd Title page. Instructions pour les Arbres Fruiterers. [Instructions for Cultivating Fruit Trees]. [1] Le Libraire au Lecteur 2p. 131-238. Tome 4. Title page: Traité des Chasses, des la Vénerie et Fauconnerie. [Treatise about things Venery and Falconry]. [1] 241-282. Table des Chapitres. 1fep. Some slight age dusting throughout. Bound in original full dark brown leather with raised bands on spine and a nice patination. Small piece of leather missing from back cover. Slight cracking to joints but holding well. Overall good condition.
- Bonnefons was a 17th century French writer who was also the 'valet de chambre' of Louis XIV. In the 1650's He published two very important cookery books; 'Le Jardinier François' and 'Les Delices de la campagne' which marked a major turning point in French cooking. In Melissa M. Wittmeier's well researched article online titled 'The Art of the Table in Eighteenth-Century France', she informs us that French cuisine changed very little during the Middle Ages. Even during the Renaissance when a type of more refined cooking was introduced, the French diet remained as it was and dominated by certain cereals and legumes for the poor, and by spicy, boiled meats for those who could afford them. Vegetables were generally considered indigestible with little to no health benefits attributed to them. During the reign of Louis XIV, [The Sun King] all of that changed. The king's preference for certain delicacies, his love for his garden and for the fruits and vegetables that it produced, set the stage for the culinary revolution and standards for fresh produce that would inspire so many great French Chefs still to follow in the future. When Louis XIV died in 1715, doctors noted upon conducting his autopsy that his stomach was three times the size of that of the average adult. Bonnefons noted in 'Les Delices de la campagne', that for the presentation, "the middle of the table will be left empty, since the master of the house will have difficulty in reaching it because of his girth." Several pages later, Bonnefons documented some "instructions for feasts"; the eight courses of the feast took more than six pages to describe and included so many plates that the Sun King's eating habits, his sumptuous and excessive repasts, his extravagant and lavish entertainment, became legendary. Bonnefon's books also elaborate in print a major change in cookery, where he emphasized cleanliness, complementary flavours and simplicity in food preparation. His oft-repeated quote; “Let a cabbage soup be entirely cabbage. . . and may what I say about soup be a law applied to everything that is eaten.” Because of Bonnefons close proximity to the King and his rare abundant gardens at Versailles, and also being a very good writer, this is a historically important book documenting Court cuisine and a practical progressive development in French cookery that ultimately was a major tenet that helped establish it as one of the world's major cuisines.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11294

Skuse. E. As new. In fantastic condition.
THE CONFECTIONERS' HAND-BOOK AND PRACTICAL GUIDE
TO THE ART OF SUGAR BOILING In all its branches. The Manufacture of Creams, Fondants, Liqueurs, Pastilles, Julubes (Gelatine and Gums), Comfits, Lozenges (Plain and Medicated), Chocolate Creams, Drops, Bars &c,: American Caramels, Ice Creams and Moulded Ices of every description; JAMS, JELLIES AND MARMALADES (BY FIRE AND STEAM). Preserved and crystalised Fruits, Candied Peel, ENGLISH AND SCOTCH PASTRY, Cordials and Syrups for American Hot & Iced Beverages. AERATED WATERS Of every description, by Hand and Machine, for Bottle, Syphon, or Fountain, Ginger Beer, Horehound, and other Fermented Beers. (a large square etching of E. Skuse with a thermometer and a steam comfit pan). The Recipes are accompanied with full and clear instructions in every branch. Every information about Colours and Flavours; the best to use and how to make them. Useful notes on Machinery for every purpose, and About One Hundred Illustrations. (a double line) PUBLISHED BY E. SKUSE, 30 PRAED, STREET, LONDON, W.; SIMOKIN, MARSHALL & Co., STATIONERS' HALL COURT; HAMILTON, ADAMS & C., PATERNOSTER ROW. [Copyright. Fourth Edition.] Price 7s. 6d.; Postage 4d.]
220x145 mm. n/d circa 1883 (taken from adverts) 1fep. Ornate Title page. [1] Introduction 1p. Contents (1)v- viii. (1)2 - 184. E. Skuse's Advertisements 22p. 1fep. Original publisher's dark brown full cloth binding. With ornate impressed blind black tooling. With gold text on the front cover and spine. In fantastic condition; as new.
- This appears to be the earlier different title to Skuse's 'Complete Confectioner' published 1890. This copy of 'The Confectioner's Hand-Book' is too similar to deny. E. Skuse calls his business in Praed St. Paddington, London a 'Manufacturing Confectioner'. In his Price List, July 1883 he lists many pages for sale, of herbs, spices, chemicals etc to make the recipes in the book. Also listed are the sweets available and possible to have shipped free in London to any stations or ports. The advertising pages dedicated to all the modern machines needed for the serious manufacturing confectioner is interesting and amazing. As promised in the title page there are approx. 100 illustrations of equipment in the book. It's a fine and handsome copy of a very under-rated book.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11295

SOYER. ALEXIS BENOIT Very rare; also with a very relevant letter signed by Soyer.
A FINELY DECORATED TRICORN PRATTWARE BOTTLE FOR 'SOYER'S RELISH'
Made by F.& R. Pratt & Co. A special limited edition Prattware bottle ordered by Messrs Crosse and Blackwell. With the shape and design to Alexis Soyer's specifications.
ITEM # 1 - n/d circa the 1850's. 195mm tall x 110mm wide. Decorated on three sides. Side 1: The famous portrait of Soyer in his trademark cocked beret, painted by his equally famous wife Emma Soyer [nee Jones]. There is an 6mm very slightly raised flake on the base under Soyer's portrait, but not detracting. Side 2: The Fish-market. Side 3: The Poultry-woman. There is a very fine 1.5" heat crack to the glace. on the lower part of the neck. Beautifully painted and decorated with raised ceramic piping in green, maroon and gold. A few gold lines on the neck are very slightly worn. ITEM # 2 - A one-page letter folded in half with the script on 1/4. 8vo. Signed by Soyer. It has presumably been written by a secretary in a lovely cursive script at the Reform Club Pall Mall, dated April 17th 1848. It starts; Dear Sir I am sure you will be delighted to offer your fair readers something to sharpen their appetites and please their palates, I therefore by your acceptance of a sample of my last culinary production and hope if it should meet with your approbation that you will recommend it as a favourite relish to amateurs of good living. I am most truly yours A. Soyer. It has then been folded again and addressed to the Lady's Newspaper. At some point it has been sealed for delivery. Now kept securely in a marbled cardboard folder. Both items housed for preservation in a very solid clam-shell box: 270 x 200 x 146mm. Quarter maroon morocco with tips. Spine with raised bands and two green morocco labels with gilt lettering. Green cloth sides. The interior with padded dark green felt cushioning. Everything in very good condition.
- - This bottle originally contained "Soyer's Sultana Sauce" and marketed by Messrs. Edmund Crosse and Thomas Blackwell as "Soyer's Relish", The whole design is definitely in keeping with the style of Soyer's 'a la zoug-zoug' predilection. (To understand what this means, see item #10991 on this site) and read George Augustus Sala's very interesting description of Alexis Soyer's eccentric design and style bias. Soyer manufactured his first piquant sauce; "The Lady and Gentleman's Sauce", in 1848, priced 2s 6d. He also marketed it himself [see image # 6 below]. The letter was addressed to the editor of the 'Lady's Newspaper'. Soyer was an inveterate self-promoter and obviously had a full quota of marketing skills as well. Due to his own efforts, the Relish was extremely popular and he intended to keep the recipe to himself but he was typically very busy with other pursuits. He agreed to a meeting with Crosse & Blackwell. Finding the terms offered for the recipe to be very advantageous, he sold it to them. Then in August 22nd, 1850 [ref: Lon. Metropolitan Archives #MA/4467/A01/003. Declaration of Goods Quality] he brought out "Soyer's Relish". From its inception, it was well patronized above and beyond expectations. Because of its great popularity, Crosse and Blackwell commissioned a limited amount of this very special bottle from F. & R. Pratt & Co. Whilst Felix Pratt was the commercial driving force behind the business, the artist was Jesse Austin who joined Pratt in the early-1840's. He was an accomplished water-colour artist and engraver and in nearly 40 years produced over 550 poly chrome prints used to decorate the now well-known small pot lids manufactured for many types of potted food-stuffs. Pratt’s first under-glaze, polychrome pot lid was made in 1847 and was a scene titled ‘Grace before Meals’. Austin’s subjects included royalty, famous people, city scenes. (The portrait of Soyer here is a copy of the famous image painted by his well-known artist wife, Emma Soyer nee; Jones, now hanging in the Nat. Portrait Gallery, London). This portrayal of the life and times of Victorian England is one of the reasons for the popularity of the pot lids today. Austin also made miniature water-colour copies of famous paintings that also appear on Prattware. Although the pot lids have become well known, the engravings were also used on the pots themselves, on plates and on other domestic earthenware manufactured by the business. It is this good-quality domestic pottery that is termed ‘Prattware’. So good were the engravings that the pot lids and Prattware rapidly became a collectible and the first exhibition was apparently held in 1897 only three years after Felix Pratt’s death. Cauldon Potteries Ltd acquired Pratt & Co in 1933 and continued to issue reproduction pot lids under the F. & R. Pratt name using the original Jesse Austin engravings and the practice was continued up to the 1960s by the various owners of the Pratt name. It is not known how many of these exotic and unusual tricorn 'Soyers' Relish' bottles were produced and sold, but one that came up for auction on July 2004, sold for four times the projected price. A very collectable object with the very rare signed letter pertaining to the bottle and it's past contents.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11296

Soyer. Alexis Benoit Very scarce: Numerous unknown details
Memoirs of Soyer (by his late secretaries)
MEMOIRS OF ALEXIS SOYER; WITH Unpublished Receipts AND ODDS AND ENDS OF GASTRONOMY. COMPILED AND EDITED BY F. VOLANT & J.R. WARREN, HIS LATE SECTRETARIES. LONDON: W. KENT & CO., 51&52, PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCLIX.
FIRST AND SOLE EDITION. 1fep. Half-title with a slightly ragged top-edge. [1] Title page. [1] 1pp. Preface. [1] 2pp. Introduction. 8pp. Contents. 1-286. 287-303 Addenda. [2]. Because of the full re-bind the advertisements inside both the covers are absent. Rebound in blue cloth. The original blue, nicely decorated front cover, laid down, still keeping the illustrated portrait of Soyer. Rubbed. Internally nice and clean. A rare book.
- - Alexis Benoît Soyer (4 February 1810 – 5 August 1858) This book by his secretaries allows the researcher of Soyer to fill in or broaden details that are not readily available elsewhere. After his demise all of Soyer's private papers were burned by a creditor to whom Soyer owed money. All the pieces of Soyer related ephemera on this site came from third-party owners. This book was on its last legs and had to be fully rebound, saving only the outer front cover, albeit slightly rubbed. Still extremely scarce.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11297

COOKE. Mordecai Cubitt
A PLAIN AND EASY ACCOUNT OF BRITISH FUNGI.
by M.C. COOKE. (a single small line). A coloured illustration of a bright orange 'Pexina Ourantia' mushroom). (a single small line). LONDON. ROBERT HRARDWICKE, 192, PICADILLY.
Second Edition. 12mo. 158 x 114 mm. Inside cover and 1fep in dark brown paper. Frontis of coloured illustration of two mushrooms on verso of fep. Ornate Title Page. [1] Second Title page dated 1871. [1] (1)iv Preface. 1p Contents. 1 p Adverts. 2p List of Coloured plates. (1)2-124. (1)126-162 The Tubular Arrangement of British fungi. (1)164-166 Index. Inside cover and fep in dark brown paper. Fully bound in pebble-grain green cloth. With an attractive blind-tooled cover and gilt illustration and gilt titles to the spine. All 24 hand-coloured lithographic plates present. Ver clean inside. Overall a very well-preserved copy.
- The author, (image # 1. below) Mordecai Cubitt Cooke; 1825 - 1914, was an English botanist and mycologist. Cooke came from a mercantile family and was born in Horning, Norfolk, and worked as an apprentice to a fabric merchant before becoming a clerk in a law firm, but his chief interest was in botany. He founded the Society of Amateur Botanists in 1862. He taught natural history at Holy Trinity National School, Lambeth, London and worked as a curator at the India Museum at India Office from 1860 to 1879. In 1879 when the botanical collections from the India Museum were transferred to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Cooke went with them. He received the Victoria Medal of Honour from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1902 and the Linnean Medal from the Linnean Society of London in 1903. He was awarded several honorary diplomas for his work, primarily with fungi, also a Master of Arts from St. Lawrence University in 1870, a Master of Arts from Yale University in 1873 and a doctorate from the New York University. His books are very well researched and presented and a pleasure to read.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11298

LOVELL. MATILDA SOPHIA Hugely under-rated research and cookery book.
THE EDIBLE MOLLUSCA
of GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND with Recipes for Cooking them. by M.S. LOVELL. "And the recipes and different modes of dressing - I am prepared to teach the world for nothing, - If men are only wise enough to learn." Atheneus, Deipnos, Book i. .60. SECOND EDITION. (aa small printer's device). LONDON; L. REEVE AND Co., 5 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. [All rights reserved]
Second edition, first issue 1884. Small 8vo. 190 x 125mm. With 12 fine hand coloured lithographs. (illustrator - G.B.Sowerby). 1fep. Half-title. [2] Coloured frontis of various edible snails w/ Latin and English names. Title page. [1] 1page Preface. [1] 1p Contents. 1p Illustrations. [1] First illustrated page of a Clam. (1)2-274. 275-287 List of works consulted. 1p Errata. (1)290-310 Index. [2] (1)2-16 Reeve and Co List of works. 1fep. Full purple cloth binding, slightly mottled, with blind tooling on both covers and gilt text on the faded spine and a gilt snail on the front. Internally very clean.
- From part of the preface we learn of Ms Lovell's motivation for writing about this intriguing wide-ranging subject: We understand the good qualities of oysters, cockles, and a few other kinds; but some equally nutritious (which are universally eaten on the Continent) are seldom, if ever, seen in our markets, or are only used locally as food, and the proper modes of cooking them are scarcely known. I have therefore endeavoured to call attention to all the eatable species common on our coasts, and also to those which, though not found here in abundance, might be cultivated as easily as oysters, and form valuable articles of food: In an article written in 2007 by S.P. Dance on the Deep Dyve Library website, we learn that Thomas Bell wrote a review of this book on 'The Athenaeum' in 1867, the year of publication of the 1st edition. It is obvious that he had studied it closely. Stating in his review; "The title of this book indicates but a small item in its contents, and does scant justice to its real interest. The gastronome who takes it up as a mere cookery-book, or the general reader who, by the same impression, rejects it unexamined, will alike upon a partial and inadequate notion of its merits. In fulfilling what purports to be its main design, then it has indeed, exhausted the subject in a most satisfactory manner, and laid before us the modes of preparing an immense number of tempting dishes, many, perhaps most, of which are new to the English epicure". Indeed, the book is full of surprises in its text. The small gems of advice, the numerous insights gleaned, the many recipes for Oysters, Snails, Mussels, Sea Urchins, Cockles, Razor Clams, Scallops etc, makes this a seriously underestimated book that is now becoming sought after. Ms Lovell lists within 14 pages, approx. 430 sources researched. A great, scarce unusual book.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11299

Dali. Salvador With a beautiful lithograph hand-signed by Dali in pencil.
DALI: THE WINES OF GALA.
Translated from the French by Olivier Bernier. Published by Harry N. Abrams Inc. 1978, New York.
FIRST EDITION. 4to. 216 x 305 mm. Inside cover with double page portrait of Dali. 1fep. Half Title. Double page Title. Verso with printer info. p 5-7. Contents. p 8-11 Intro; La Cave. (10-16). p 16-293. p 294-296 Guide to more than 140 illustrations, including 124 in full colour. Original white silk cloth hardcover. With titles in gilt and multi-colour. Dali design to front cover. A near fine copy in very good gold embossed jacket. ITEM 2. 493 x 276 mm. A lithograph of the 'King of Cup Hand' Tarot suite. [Ref: The official catalogue of the graphic works of Salvador Dali by Albert Field]. Hand signed in pencil by Dali. Also numbered 'EA' (Epreuve d' Artiste). Housed in a marbled paper folder. To accompany the 'Wines of Gala'.
- The 'Wines of Gala' is an extravagant production, eccentric and personal by the great Spanish surrealist, Salvador Domenech Felipe Jacinto Dali. As a follow-up to his phenomenal best-selling cookbook 'Les dîners de Gala', it's in this delightfully eccentric guide to wine, the surrealist master shares his passion for the gift of the gods. The book explores the many myths of the grape, in texts and sensuous, subversive works by the artist, always true to his maxim: “A real connoisseur does not drink wine but tastes of its secrets.” Dali's take on pleasures of the grape and the book sets out to organize wines "according to the sensations they create in our very depths." Through eclectic metrics like production method, weight, and colour, the book presents wines of the world in such innovative, Daliesque groupings such as "Wines of Frivolity," "Wines of the Impossible," and "Wines of Light". The significant wine regions are, 'Dix Vins du Divin' [ten Divine Wines] that Dali highlights including descriptions of the wines of Ay, Shiraz, King Minos, Lacrima Christi, the Great Red Bordeaux, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Romanée Conti, Sherry, Châteaud’Yquem, and California wines. Bursting with the imagery of the 140 fantastic illustrations by Dali, many of which are appropriated artworks, including various classical nudes, all of them reconstructed with suitably Surrealist, provocative touches, like Jean-Francois Millet's 'The Angelus', one of Dali's favourite points of reference over the decades. Dali also included what is now considered one of the greatest works from his late "Nuclear Mystic" phase, 'The Sacrament of the Last Supper' (1955), which sets the iconic biblical scene in a translucent dodecahedron-shaped space before a Catalonian coastal landscape. Dali was by this stage a devout Catholic, simultaneously captivated by science, optical illusion, and the atomic age. Rather than any prescriptive classification, the book is a flamboyant, free-flowing manifesto in favour of taste and feeling, as much as a multisensory treat, also a full-bodied document of Dali's late-stage oeuvre, in which the artist both reflected on formative influences and refined his own cultural legacy. Wines of Gala was published in 1977, first in French, as 'Les Vins de Gala et du Divin' by Draeger, then in English by Abrams in New York a year later. Dedicated to Dalí’s long-time wife and muse, Gala, an imperious Russian woman 10 years his elder. The book covers Dalí’s famously intense obsession with sexuality and desire for food and wine, three sensual topics he’d rarely addressed in his work. But while the earlier cookbook has grown in notoriety and acclaim since it went out of print, reliably selling for hundreds of dollars whenever a used copy turns up, 'Wines of Gala' sank beneath the surface, an afterthought at the tail end of the 20th-century master’s career. How-ever a full reprint of the 1st edition published by Taschen in November 2017 changed all that. The book became the winner of the 2018 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, causing this second book of Dali's to be as sought after as his first one. A fine addition to a gastronomic library, made all the more collectable with the accompanying large, expanded sized lithograph of the tarot card, hand-signed by Dali. (image #5 below). The cards were designed by Dali and first published in a 1984 limited edition box set of 78 cards, each dazzling in colour, that has since long been sold out.

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Modern category

ref number: 11300

Kitchener. Dr. William A rare copy in the original state.
THE SHILLING KITCHINER
OR ORACLE OF COOKERY FOR THE MILLION WITH DR. KITCHINER'S CELEBRATED ADVICE TO COOKS AND OTHER SERVANTS BY THE EDITORS OF "THE DICTIONARY OF DAILY WANTS" LONDON HOULSTON AND WRIGHT 65, PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCLXI
FIRST AND SOLE EDITION 1861. 110 X 174mm. Adverts on inside cover & fep. Frontispiece of elaborate dinner for 16 pax. Title page. Verso with printer's info. (1)2-188. (1)190-196 Index. 1p advertisements also adverts on inside cover. All pages bright and fresh. The front and back covers in the original attractive pink cloth in excellent condition. With the same handsome design on both sides. The original spine missing but all holding well. Housed for preservation in a modern clam-shell box with quarter dark brown leather and tips. The spine with two orange labels and gilt lettering. The sides with dark brown cloth. The interior in orange felt cloth. In fine original state.
- This least known of Kitchener's books on cookery published on 1861, is a mystery. He died on 1827. The publishers of 'The Dictionary of Daily Wants' 1859 must have had access to his papers. It's also clear, because of the distinct title, that the editors of 'Daily Wants' wanted to make the most of the phenomenal popularity of Soyer's 'Shilling Cookery for the People'. There is no doubt after reading it that Kitchener's sentiments and style are apparent. This handsome copy in fine condition (albeit with the spine cover missing) is very rare.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11301