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KOFFMANN. PIERRE - A signed copy.
MEMORIES OF GASCONY.
Pierre Koffman with Timothy Shaw. Photographs by Anthony Blake. Illustrations by Christopher Corr.
FIRST EDITION 1990. 285 X 220mm. 1fep. Half-title with Koffman's signature. A double page title with Antony Blake's signature dated 12.5 90. Verso with Pub. details. p5. Contents. A photograph of Koffmann in the dining room of La Tante Claire. 7-9 Prologue. 10-13 Introduction. A double page title for Spring. 16-69. A double page title for Summer. 73-121. A double page title for Autumn. 124-185. A double page title for Winter. 188-247. 248-251 Epilogue. 252-254 Index. p255 Restaurants and Wines of Gascony. p256 Acknowledgements. 1fep. Cream coloured cloth hard cover with black text on the front and spine. d/w fine condition. The whole as new.
- Memories of Gascony centres on the Oratoire, the farmhouse of Pierre Koffmann's grandparents Marcel and Camille Cadeillan, situated in the village of Saint Puy in the heart of rural Gascony in the department of the Gers. This is an intimate account of school holidays spent helping his grandfather to harvest and hunt, and learning to treasure seasonality and the best ingredients at his grandmother's side. The finest of Gascony produce is here, with a focus on simplicity. The recipes stand the test of time. While you read the charming stories of everyday life on the farm, especially the foods available thro' each season, you'll understand the loss today, where foods shipped and available from all corners of the globe, at any time of the year, has wiped out the anticipation and delight seasonal tastes will bring. Read about Koffmann's Gascony dishes; 'Dandelion salad with bacon and poached egg', 'Grilled chicken with shallots and vinaigrette'. 'Greengages in armagnac' in Spring'; 'Chicken liver pate with capers'. 'Bayonne ham tart with garlic'. 'Oeufs a la neige' in Summer; 'Roast hare with mustard and beetroot'. 'Salt cod cassoulet and quince jelly' in Autumn; 'Fried eggs with foie gras, potato and bacon'. 'Pie and tarte aux pruneaux' in Winter; This is a book to love and learn great cooking from. Koffmann first worked as a chef in Strasbourg and Toulon, before moving in 1970 to the UK to work with Michel and Albert Roux at Le Gavroche. He originally only wanted to move to the UK so that he could see England play France at rugby at Twickenham Stadium. He then moved to the Roux brothers' Waterside Inn in Bray, Berkshire, in 1972, being made the first head chef of the new restaurant, where he met his future wife Annie who was the restaurant's manager. He opened his own first restaurant, La Tante Claire, in 1977 in Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea. During his time at La Tante Claire, Koffmann worked and trained several chefs, including Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White, Marcus Wareing and Tom Kitchin soon to share the same eminence. This is a great cook book that was recognised and awarded the Glenfiddich Food Book of the Year in 1991.

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Modern category

ref number: 11322

Roux. Michel - Signed by the Author.
Desserts.
A Lifelong Passion (a small photograph of a small Bombe) TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY KATE WHITEMAN - PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARTIN BRIGDALE - CONRAN OCTOPUS.
FIRST EDITION. Published October 13th 1994. 275 x 225mm. 1fep. Half-title with inscription To Robert Hendry dated 7.3.95. and Michel's signature, with a tipped in complimentary illustrated sheet for The Waterside Inn. Verso with a full page Frontis of a mousse and fruit cake. Title page. Verso with Acknowledgements and publisher's info. 1p Contents. 1p Dedication to Lucien Peltier. 1p My Secret Obsession. 8-9 Introduction. 10-189. 190 Food Suppliers. 191-192 Index. 1fep. Bottle green full cloth hardcover with gilt text and small printer's device on the spine. The dust wrapper very good. The whole book as new. Illustrated throughout with Martin Brigdale’s stunning photographs and designed in a clear, modern, easy-to-follow style,
- Michel Roux trained in the classic French style and has been inspired by many influences to develop an outstanding repertoire of desserts. Classic recipes are given a modern twist, while original recipes boast new combinations of flavours or a lighter or simpler style of cooking. His book is divided into 10 chapters, each focusing on a particular type of dessert, from simple fruit desserts, hot soufflés and puddings, ice creams and sorbets, through meringues, mousses and parfaits to delectable tarts, pastries and gâteaux. Step-by-step photographic sequences guide you through specific techniques throughout the chapters as Michel presents recipes that are straightforward to prepare and designed to suit today’s fresher, lighter palate. Desserts is set to become a classic from the moment it was published. In 1967, Michel opened his first restaurant, the acclaimed Le Gavroche in London, with his brother Albert. Several other restaurants followed, including The Waterside Inn at Bray, where Michel has held three Michelin stars for an astonishing 25 years. Michel holds countless other culinary honours, including the Meilleur Ouvrier de France en Pâtisserie in 1976, the Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite in 1987, the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1990 and Doctor of Culinary Arts Honoris Causa, from Johnson & Wales University, in Providence, Rhode Island. In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the OBE in 2002 and the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2004.

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Modern category

ref number: 11323

Adria. Ferran - Signed by the Author.
The Family Meal.
Home Cooking with Ferran Adria. Phaidon printer's device at the bottom of the Page.
FIRST UK EDITION. 2011. 297 x 220 x 30mm. 1 fep with a tipped in planche with a fine border and signed by F. Adria, pour Bobby. Dated 22.11.11. Title page. [1] Second Title Page. [1] p8 Third Title Page. Verso with a Frontis of Adria. 7-375. [1] 377-379 Glossary. 380-383 Index. 1fep. A thick white well decorated hardcover. In very good condition - as new.
- A very different book of cookery. Composing of 31 full three course meals. Every meal has a full ingredients list, a double page picture of all each of the 3 recipes laid out, also a fully timed preparation list. Also incredibly with the quantities needed for 2 - 6 - 20 & 75 pax. Then each course has a full complement of photographs showing the cooking steps and each image with directions. This is a wonderful book if someone cooks each of the 93 recipes they will have a very good personal repertoire. This is not as extra-ordinary as it sounds. I have never seen before, a book of cookery recipes that are so precise. To use a modern expression; it's a no-brainer.

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Modern category

ref number: 11324

David. Elizabeth From the Elizabeth David auction of her kitchenware.
A fine collection of 17th to 19th century sugar crushers.
Seven fine crystal and glass antique sugar crushers with the auction labels still attached.
Wrapped in tissue paper and stored in a cardboard black box with 2 maroon morocco labels and gilt text. A unique set.
- Elizabeth David [ED] (born Elizabeth Gwynne, 26 December 1913) passed away at the Royal Cornwall Hospital following a short illness, aged 84 years. She died in the early hours of 22 May 1992 having suffered a stroke followed two days later by another, which was fatal; She was buried on 28 May at the family church of St Peter ad Vincula, Folkington. A memorial service was held at St Martin-in-the-Fields on 10 September. After her death her four nephews decided they could not hold on to her kitchenware. It was decided that Phillips of Bayswater would handle the sale. On February 1994, ED's possessions were put up for auction, but nothing prepared auctioneers for the interest generated by the prospect of owning the utensils that helped revolutionise British cookery. A Phillip's spokesman declared "We expected to realise about UK£15,000, maybe £20,000, but we finally achieved £49,000. There was even an exclamation about the cook who spent £200 on one glass sugar-crusher. This collection of sugar crushers assembled by ED. were important 17 to 19th century home kitchen tools. Because sugar at that time was transported in dense sugar loafs that had to be managed in the households, broken down into small hard lumps, the crushers were essential. Now not used, needed nor produced, ED. was well aware of their uniqueness. From Alimentarium's online site, the history of sugar is explained well: "People have always known honey and, for a long time, it was the only sweetener used. Originally from New Guinea, sugar cane very soon migrated to Southwest Asia and aroused keen interest among the people who discovered it. In the 6th century BC, the Persians invaded India and marvelled at this ‘reed which gives honey without the need for bees. In the reign of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, sugar cane reached the Middle East. During Antiquity and the Middle Ages, sugar was a rare and expensive commodity, as with spices such as saffron and nutmeg. From the late 15th century, shortly after Christopher Columbus’ first voyage to America, sugar cane plantations developed in the West Indies, then South America, particularly in Brazil. Sugar became the top colonial commodity. It was at the root of the evil ‘triangular trade’, where European shipowners exchanged trinkets for African men, who were then sold as slaves in America. The ships then returned to Europe with products from the colonies, including precious sugar. In the early 19th century, in response to the English blockade on sugar from the West Indies, Napoleon ordered sugar beet to be grown on French soil. Andreas Sigismund Marggraf, a German chemist, had discovered the sweetening aspect of the beet in 1757. In 1811, the first economically viable sugar beet processing plant was built in France. Sugar became widely consumed in the late 19th century, as a result of the farming of sugar beet". A sugarloaf (see image #5 below) was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, a rich raw sugar that was imported from sugar-growing regions such as the Caribbean and Brazil, was refined into white sugar. The earliest record to date appears to be 12th century in Jordan, though reference to a cone of sugar is found in al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar's 9th century Arabic 'Al-Akhbar al-Muwaffaqiyyat'. In Europe, the sugar loaves were made in Italy from 1470, Belgium 1508, England 1544, Holland 1566, Germany 1573 and France 1613. When refining from sugar beet began in mainland Europe in 1799, loaves were produced in the same way. Until the mid-19th century, the British government used a system of punitive taxes to make it impossible for its colonial producers in the Caribbean to refine their own sugar and supply Britain with finished sugarloaves. Previously the Amsterdam industry had been similarly protected from the importation of East India white sugar. Instead, a dark raw sugar or muscovado, produced on the plantations by an initial boiling of the fresh cane juice, and shipped in hogsheads to Europe on what was the third leg of the Triangular Trade. As a final side note; the famous Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is said to refer its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar.

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Modern category

ref number: 11325

Roux. Albert & Michel Signed by both brothers.
The Roux Brothers New Classic Cuisine.
With a chapter of Wine by MICHAEL BROADBENT by PAUL HOGARTH and photography by ANTHONY BLAKE. MACDONALD & CO LONDON AND SYDNEY. The attractive title page and frontispiece surrounded by a double line border and covering 2pages. Incorporating a nice water-colour of a French and garden.
FIRST ENGLISH EDITION 1983. 269 x 200mm. 1fep with a tipped in 'best wishes' card in red and cream, signed by both brothers. [1] Half-title. The two-page Frontis and title page. Verso with publisher's info and dedications. 2p Contents. p7 Forward. Verso with a b/w photograph of a young Michel. 9-11 Introduction. p14 A sepia watercolour of a Chateau. 15-19 The Culinary Tradition. 1p Verso. a watercolour of a Sommelier. 21-251. 252-256 Appendices, Glossary and Index. 1fep. Maroon cloth hardcover with silver text on the spine. Fine slipcase. Very fine condition, as new.
- This excellent book was the Roux Brothers first published literary effort. It was very well received and went on to cover demand with a total of 4 editions. Next came in 1986, another of Albert's equally fine titles 'The Roux Brothers on Patisserie' that also required another edition later. Next we see in 1988, with a total of 3 editions, "At Home with the Roux Brothers'. Followed one year later in 1989, 'The Roux Brothers. French Country Cooking'. Albert Roux followed quickly in 1991 with 'The Roux Brothers Cooking for Two', printed after a run of 13 cooking programmes on the BBC. This had a total of 2 editions. !992 saw 'French Country Cooking' published with a total of 2 editions. 1996 saw Albert bring out, 'Cher Albert: Answers to everything Gastronomique'. Michel Roux brought out his own Master tome in 1994, titled 'Desserts'. A immense output from two of the most important modern Master Chefs to reside and work in England. Along with Escoffier and Elizabeth David, the Brothers were, in Culinary terms, epoch changers in the United Kingdom.

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Modern category

ref number: 11326

Adria. Ferran - With Ferran Adria's signature.
elBulli - 1998-2002.
Ferran Adria / Juli Soler / Albert Adria. Also accompanied by a concertina hard page folder called 'Auxiliary Tools' & CD.
Large 4to. 320 x 245 x 43mm 1fep. Half title. 6p b/w Photographs. [1] Title page with Adria's signature; 'Pour Bobby' 22.11.11. 1 double page with Catalogue Index and Analysis Index. [1] p13 Presentation. p14 Introduction. Double page 1998... p18-81 Catalogue. p82-117 Evolutionary Analytics. Double page 1999... p120-195 Catalogue. p196-226 - 1p b/w photograph. Evolutionary Analytics. Double page 2000.... p230-305 Catalogue. p306-341 Evolutionary Analytics. Double page 2001... p344-428 Catalogue. p428-473 Evolutionary Analytics. p 474 Retrospective 1998-2001. 2002... [1] 477-483 Catalogue. [1] 485-489 Evolutionary Analytics. 490-493 b/w Photographs. [1] A hand Drawing. [1] 1fep. Thick hardcovers. Decorated like black marble. A strongly built book. The accompanying AUXILIARY FOLDER. 20 pages "guide to the Book". 1 CD. Both items fitted into a strong slip-case also decorated like black marble. As new.
- Quoting from the Book; "From 1998 to 2002 the elBulli tasting menu acquired an almost definitive structure providing the ideal vehicle for serving diners of multiple elaborations that enabled them to appreciate the whole gastronomic offering every season. The Catalogue details 371 dishes and presents an evolutionary analysis during those five years". To put this important book into a context, it's necessary to know something of Ferran Adria's background and how He and elBulli came about, and why the culinary influence and impact was so important and far-reaching. On the elbulli Foundation website online, a potted biography can be seen that is worth repeating here verbatim:- Ferran Adrià Acosta, born May 14th, 1962, in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain, attends the local Casal dels Àngels School and then goes to San Isidro School in Barcelona, while living with his parents, Ginés, a plasterer, and Josefa, a housewife, and his brother Albert. His passion is football, and he plays with the Juventud de l’Hospitalet club until 1974 and with Santa Eulàlia F.C. until 1980. At this moment he has almost no interest in cooking, typical of a boy of his age. In 1977 he enters Instituto Politécnico de la Merced to take administrative studies, as a prelude to a degree in Business Studies. In 1980, he decides to give up his studies, preferring to make some money so that he can go on holiday to Ibiza. With this aim, by chance he begins his culinary career modestly, going to work as a dishwasher at the Playafels Hotel in Castelldefels, near L’Hospitalet. There, chef Miquel Moy, a close friend of his father, helps him to become familiar with basic culinary techniques. A few months later, in 1981, he starts work at the Club Cala Leña, in Es Canà, Ibiza. After four months, he returns to Barcelona, performing varied tasks in establishments such as El Suquet, Castell Arnau and Martinique. In 1982 he finds a job in the prestigious Finisterre restaurant, staying there until he leaves to do military service, on July 2nd, 1982. From mid-1982 until the end of 1983, Ferran does his military service in Cartagena, forming part of the team working in the Admiral’s kitchen. Here, for the first time, he takes charge of the kitchen. Assuming such responsibilities serves as an important experience for him. Following a suggestion from Fermí Puig, another Catalan recruit, who works at elBulli, Ferran spends his month’s leave in the summer of 1983 at the restaurant in Cala Montjoi. At the end of his military service, he works at the San Marcos restaurant in Seville from January to March 1984. Then, in April 1984, he joins the team of elBulli occupying the position of Chef de Partie. On November 1st, following the departure of Head Chef, Jean-Paul Vinay, Juli Soler, elBulli’s Director, offers Ferran and Christian Lutaud the position of joint Head Chefs. Juli Soler encourages Ferran to travel around France and learn more about the world of Haute Cuisine. Ferran undertakes two stages in the kitchens of Georges Blanc and Jacques Pic. In October 1986, Christian Lutaud leaves elBulli and Ferran assumes sole responsibility. From 1987 Ferran decides to pursue his own ideas in the kitchen, leaving aside the Nouvelle Cuisine style of the restaurant. He begins by using ingredients, techniques, and local and regional elaborations, interpreting them through his vision of Haute Cuisine. Up until 1993 this “Mediterranean style” defines the cuisine of elBulli and exerts an important influence on the Catalan and Spanish cuisine of this period. In 1990 elBulli S.L. is created, a company founded by Juli Soler and Ferran Adrià, developing different lines and models of business. elBulli S.L. reinvests 20% of its turnover in pursuing creativity. elBullirestaurante functions as the R & D department of a company that manages consultancy and assessment for catering companies and the food industry, whilst always placing its commitment to avant-garde cuisine as its foremost concern. This model enables the radical nature of elBulli to be maintained. In the early 90s a change in the cooking of Ferran and elBullirestaurante begins to take place, and a series of new concepts, elaborations, techniques and service formats appear alongside the “Mediterranean” dishes, reaching their full expression in 1994. From that time on, a series of constants characterizes the style of elBulli, outlined in the 23-point synthesis of elBulli’s cooking. At the end of 1987 Ferran and Juli decide to make an organisational change, dividing the restaurant season into two parts: six months of restaurant service and six months of closure. Throughout the 90s, the team seek a successful formula for creating a workshop during the six months of restaurant closure, and after trying several locations, elBullitaller is opened in 2000, in Carrer Portaferrissa, Barcelona, becoming the first in the history of haute cuisine. Developing this blueprint, a model of creativity is established that is perfected little by little. In place of creating a dish based on an idea, hundreds of ideas for concepts, techniques and elaborations are introduced during the closed season in elBullitaller, which lead to finished recipes and menus in elBullirestaurante. At the same time all the variables and resources of the process are subjected to a creative audit offering a high level of efficiency and effectiveness, which is key to determining elBulli’s creative longevity. Ferran marries Isabel Pérez in 2002. They do not have any children. 'elBullirestaurante' closes its doors to become 'elBullifoundation'. A fascinating, very unusually formatted, game-changing cookery book.

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Modern category

ref number: 11327

Adria. Ferran Signed by Ferran Adria.
elBulli 2003 - 2004.
Ferran Adria / Juli Soler / Albert Adria. Also accompanied by a concertina hard page folder titled 'Updating of the Evolutionary Analysis' & CD.
1st VOLUME: .elBulli 2003 - FIRST EDITION 2005. 315 x 245 x 32mm. 1 fep. p1 Printers device. Double page of elBulli kitchen brigade on the beach with F. Adria. (see image 1 below). [1] Title page with a tipped in planch with Adria's signature "Pour Bobby". dated 22.11.11. Double Page: Contents. 8-11. Double page; Catalogue 2003 (1)15-167. Double page: Evolutionary analysis 2003 (4) [1] 175-333. Double page of repetitive hand drawings. p1 Printers Info. 1fep. Bound in a strong black hardcover. Black decorated dust wrapper. As new. 2nd VOLUME: elBulli 2004 - FIRST EDITION 2005. 315 x 245 x 30m. 1fep. Printers device. Double page of elBulli kitchen brigade standing in a garden with F. Adria. [1] Title page Double Page: Contents. 8-11. Double page; Catalogue 2004 (1)15-156. Double page: Evolutionary analysis 2004 (4) [1163-313. p4 b/w photographs of the staff. Double page of repetitive hand drawings. p1 Printers Info. 1fep. Bound in a strong black hardcover. Black decorated dust wrapper. As new. ITEM 3. 2003-2004 Updating of the Evolutionary analysis. A folded 20 page concertina of instructions, in b/w text on strong cardboard. With a CD Rom. As new. All three items in a very strong slip-case in very good condition.
- In the first volume - elBulli, 2003, the double page b/w photograph shows a kitchen brigade of 34 chefs and 16 waiters. This is a massive staff although not surprising. Adria's cuisine reminds me of the labour-intensive nature of making Canapes. One also gets the impression that He is also inspired by the bite sized Tapas, Japanese Sushi and possibly Chinese Dim-sum. In elBulli each meal consists of very many varied small bites. Ferran Adria definitely wants to take his cuisine to a level that has not been seen before and that defies description. He himself uses a nomenclature that could be called obtuse. At best he is uses descriptions that the layperson would not be able conceptualise, creating a mystique that may please him. Although Adria and his key staff are not above using all the details in these books themselves, one sees a highly detailed preparation process with very intricate presentation. Adria also has an experimental kitchen in Barcelona opposite the great public market - La Bouqeria, that displays the freshest of meats, fish, fruits and vegetables. The abundance of all the exotic and expensive produce available, is beyond compare. So, no surprise that Ferran Adria and his brother Albert must use the market to stimulate inspiration and ideas. This experimentation and the logging and filing thereof, is meticulous. It is the key central attribute that defines the quality of Adria's cuisine. This is what one reads and sees in these great tomes. Prepare to be amazed and mystified.

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Modern category

ref number: 11328

Pellaprat. Henri-Paul - An interesting book of its time.
Modern Culinary Art.
THE BEST FRENCH AND FOREIGN COOKERY * COOKERY - PASTRY - SIMPLE CONFECTIONARY *** ENTREMETS - ICES - JAMS **** HOME PRESERVES - DRINKS - ETC. Reputed dishes of foreign cookery - Service of table - Decoration with flowers - Service of wines - Choice and knowledge of foods. Cutting of meats - Dinners * 50 MENUS OF DINNERS, BIRTHDAY, FEASTS, WEDDINGS, ETC. MENUS FOR DIFFERENT DIETS - CURES OF FRUITS * WORK CONTAINING MORE THAN 700 PAGES, 530 OF TEXT, 3,500 recipes clearly stated and necessary explanations 207 illustrated and coloured pages of 480 different dishes 48 pages illustrated in black. by Henri-Paul Pellaprat. Headmaster of the Culinary schools of Officier de L'Instruction Publique et du Merite Agricole Laureat hors concours of the culinary exhibitions. Head editor of corporative works in Paris. Author of several professional books. DEDICATED BY (3 facsimile signatures) E. Herbodeau Chef de cuisine Carlton Hotel, London. (unreadable signature) Chairman of the Cooks Association in Paris. (unreadable signature) Culinary Author. (one long horizontal line) COMPTOIR FRANCAIS DU LIVRE 115, Rue du Foubourg-poissonniere, PARIS [IX]
FIRST ENGLISH EDITION 1937. 4to. 268 x 198 x 60mm. 2feps. Half-title. Verso - Work Plan. Title page. Verso - Exhibitions entered. 5-8 Letters of congratulation. p9 Introduction. [1] 11-719. [1] 721-745(1) Index. 2feps. Half red morocco and marbled boards with large red morocco tips. Spine with raised bands, elaborate gilt tooling and lettering. Excellent condition.
- This book has to be included in a collection of cookery books representative of the progress of cookery thro' the ages. The period between the great wars was an interesting one. Wikipedia informs: "Despite the relatively short period of time, the period represented an era of significant changes worldwide. Petroleum-based energy production and associated mechanisation expanded dramatically leading to the Roaring Twenties, a period of economic prosperity and growth for the middle class in North America, Europe, Asia and many other parts of the world. Automobiles, electric lighting, radio broadcasts and more became common among populations in the developed world. The indulgences of the era subsequently were followed by the Great Depression, an unprecedented worldwide economic downturn that severely damaged many of the world's largest economies". In the UK, between the Armistice of 11th November 1918 and the resumption of pan-European hostilities with Nazi Germany’s genocidal expansionism, the British economy struggled and unemployment was rife. The nation embraced new attitudes, such as welcoming the BBC to the airwaves but also witnessing civil war in Ireland. But the progress was anchored to an ailing economy. Some London restaurants and hotels flourished. Notably; the famous Rosa Lewis at the Cavendish Hotel and her mentor Escoffier at the Carlton Hotel, who retired on 1919. To be succeeded very ably by Eugene Hebodeau. Claridges, the Savoy and the Ritz Hotels were keeping and improving their reputations. Other notable eateries were Kettners in Soho, Rules in Maiden Lane, the great fish restaurant Masion Prunier at St James and a few others that also flourished. Food supplies and fresh produce were poor and dominated by cost and non-availability. It was not until Elizabeth David's books of the 1950's, with their beguiling prose that British people started to wake up to a better diet. To now view Pellaprat's thick book first published in 1937, is to see past the title 'Modern Culinary Art', and understand the illusion. One can see why elaborate decoration of dishes is necessary. This was not fraud but serious, very hard-working Chefs try to lift the gloom and present some fantasy. In these days of super abundant produce, spices and rare exotic foods from everywhere, backed up by televised food and cookery shows and supported by glossy printed productions, one needs to read the title page of Pellaprat's book and see its ambitious aims. Then it can be understood as a noble effort.

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Modern category

ref number: 11329

Bailey. Nathan - A rare important work with more precise recipes.
Dictionarium Domesticum.
Being a NEW and COMPLETE, Household Dictionary. For the Use both of CITY and COUNTRY. SHEWING, I. The whole Arts of Brewing, Baking, Cookery, and Piceling. Also Confectionary in its several Branches. II. The Management of the Kitchin, Pantry, Lar-der, Dairy, Olitory, and Poultry. With the proper Seasons for Flesh, Fowl and Fish. III. The Herdsman: Giving an Account of the Diseases of Cattle Poultry, &c. And the most approved Remedies for their Cure. IV. The English Vineyard; being the best Method of making English Wines and of Distilling most Kinds of Simple and Cordial Waters. V. The Apiary: Or, The Manner of Breeding, Hiving and managing of Bees. VI. The Family Physician and Herbalist: Containing the choicest Collection of Receipts for most Distempers, incident to Human Bodies, hitherto made Publick; with the Qualities and Uses of Physical Herbs and Plants of English Growth. (a long horizontal line). By N. BAILEY, Author of the Universal Etymological English Dictionary. (2 long horizontal lines). LONDON: Printed for C, Hitch at the Red Lion, and C. Davies, both in Pater-Noster Row; and S. Austen at the Angel and Bible, in St. Paul's Church-Yard. (a small horizontal line). M,DCC,XXX,V,I.
FIRST EDITION 1736. 8vo. 198 x 120 x 43mm. Inside cover with bookplate of Alan Davidson. 1fep. [1] Verso with engraved Frontispiece of five separate scenes domesticity. Cropped close at the bottom with no loss. Title page. [1] 2p Preface. 306 leaves 612 pages. Pages un-numbered but ordered alphabetically at the top of each page. 1fep. Bound in 19th century quarter calf and tips, with pebble cloth covers. The spine with gilt title, lines and simple tooled ornaments. Red speckled text-block edges. The feps stained without detracting. Internally very clean. All quite sound and VG.
- Although precise details of his birth and formative years are hard to find, it is well recorded that Nathan Bailey was an English philologist and lexicographer. He was the author of several dictionaries. He was a Seventh Day Baptist, admitted 1691 to a congregation in Whitechapel, London. Later he had a school at Stepney. Bailey, with John Kersey the younger, was a pioneer of English lexicography, and changed the scope of dictionaries to a greater comprehensivity. Up to the early eighteenth century, English dictionaries had generally focused on "hard words" and their explanation, for example those of Thomas Blount and Edward Phillips in the generation before. With a change of attention, to include more commonplace words and those not of direct interest to scholars, the number of headwords in English dictionaries increased spectacularly. Innovations were in the areas of common words, dialect, technical terms, and vulgarities. Bailey's An Universal Etymological English Dictionary, from its publication in 1721, became the most popular English dictionary of the 18th century, and went through nearly thirty editions. It was also the basis of English-German dictionaries. This copy here of Bailey's 'Dictionarium Domesticum,' 1736, is also a cookbook with recipes, including a rare one for fried chicken. The alphabetical ordering of the book is unusual, and the recipes are much more detailed than is the norm in other cookery books of the time. This gives it a greater importance than some of the other well-known 18th century cookery books. Nathan Bailey died June 27th, 1742, six years after Dictionarium Domesticum's publication.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11330

Cocke. Thomas - A rare treatise on rules for food and purified water.
Kitchin-Physick:
OR, Advice to the POOR, By way of DIALOGUE Betwixt Philantbropos, } { Physician, Eugenins, } { Apothecary, Lazarus } { Patient. WITH Rules and Directions, how to prevent sick-ness, and cure Diseases by Diet, and such things as are daily fold in the Market : As also, for the better enabling of Nurses, and such as attend sick people ; There be-ing nothing as yet extant (though much desired of this Nature. (one long horizontal line) Parve nec invideo, &c. Ovid de Trift. (one long horizontal line) London, Printed for J.B. who desires the Reader to take notice that he is the next week to return this Book to the Clark, or pay 12d. [the whole text surrounded by a double line border].
FIRST EDITION 1675. 12vo. 150 x 95mm. Ex-Libris label on front paste-down. Ex-Libris label of "W. William Cock M.D." dated 1899 tipped onto the 1st fep. A 2nd fep. Title page. [1] p4 Epistle Dedicatory, by "Thom. Cocke". 1-4 Advertisement to the Patient. 5-87. Last page is printed: "Finis part the first". [1] 1fep. Pages age browned with a few spots of foxing. Pages cropped on top without loss. Dark brown early calf boards. Chips missing to leather spine. Front joint with loss of leather. Holding well, not detracting. Gilt tooling and lettering on maroon leather label and spine. Has a nice patina.
- This is a book of food recipes that have been written as a dialogue rather than a list. The four chapters cover the four metabolic humors in the body according to the theory and practice of Greek Medicine. Thomas Cocke seems to have been a sincere, sympathetic and experienced Physician of his time. The book itself and publishing dates are frustrating to tie down. What little information there is confuses. Oxford p3. 8/39 has a dated copy printed for the Author, by T. Basset at the George near Clifford's Inne in Fleet Street. 1676. He carries on and states that "the book is rules for the use of food", Describing the title page of the second part as a "Practical and short Discourse of stoving and bathing". There is also a plate of a bath and the preface is signed by Thomas Cocke, but there is no stated date. Beside this dated first part and undated second part of Oxford's copy, we can on p435 of Cagle's huge bibliographical catalogue 'A Matter of Taste', see another copy, with his first part also undated but the second part present and dated 1675. Cagle curiously assumes dates for both parts of the first edition as 1675. He further informs that Wing gives separate numbers for each part. All of the first parts end with "Finis part the first", with the two parts usually bound together. The first and only edition of the second part, 'Miscelanea Medica', was issued together with several later editions of 'Kitchin Physick'. Its ventured that some of the first editions did not always appear with the second part bound in. This copy could to be one of those. This binding is later 18th century and does not appear to have had the 2nd part. It also does not make sense to have the two parts originally bound together then separate them. It is also very curious that the first part of Cagle's first edition is undated while his 1675 second part is. The first conclusion one can make is that the parts were written and printed separately by Thomas Cocke and bound together later. This would also explain why Cocke published later dated editions of the first part but only used the one dated second part of the first edition. The second conclusion is that Cocke published the undated first earlier than 1675, and was working on a second part that came later. That would also explain why p87 on every first part, ends with "Finis part the first". He always intended to add a second part. There is one other interesting fact about this copy. The large ex-libris bookplate of F. William Cock MD, under which is written in his hand, (one assumes) an in-distinguishable coded reference. On the opposite front inside cover, 'By Thomas Cocke Physician', is written in ink by the same hand. One wonders whether they were related and William Cock M.D. had done some successful corroborative research. Finally, this is a small treatise on diet and cookery for sickness. These books cannot be separated from any collection of early cookery books. Except for the cookery books published for Royal Households, Restaurants, Taverns etc, that displayed only recipes for food, a large percentage of others, mainly 18th century published works combined food and medical recipes together. An interesting copy of a rare book.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11331