Escoffier.   Georges Auguste     - With Escoffier's menu, booklet and ephemera.
The Carlton Hotel
One of Escoffier's Menus as well as a booklet with recipes for His sauces and two of Eugene Herbodeau's menus plus other Carlton Hotel Ephemera.
The Carlton Restaurant 'Carte du Jour' menu is dated 29th Avril 1908. It is slightly age-browned with ink inscriptions at the top describing some new dishes not featured on the menu. There are 2 dinner menu's from 4 Carlton Gardens dated 15 and 31st March, without a yearly date. Then two of Eugene Herbodeau's menus, the first for Xmas Dinner and a separate blue invitation card to New Years Reveillon. The second menu is a very rare special Luncheon with Anna Pavlova as main guest. Also enclosed is a recipe booklet with the original blue covers almost detached. It has Escoffier's name and the Carlton Hotel 'coat of arms' embossed in slightly faded gilt on the front cover. It is titled 'A Few Recipes'. It has a title page. p 1 Introduction. p 3-7 Preface. p 8-40 Recipes. p 41-42 Advertisements for Escoffier Sauces. p 43-44 Advertisement for 'A Guide to Modern Cookery'. p 45-47 Index. [1] There is a blue water stain in the top corner of all pages, not affecting the text. Also a finely designed folded card advertising the 25th Anniversary of the Carlton Hotel, very beautifully decorated in silver with blue leaves and a border of fruit; It has three finely drawn vignettes of the Hotel, the Restaurant and the Palm Room. Also enclosed is a b/w photograph of Escoffier and Eugene Herbodeau and another b/w photograph of the Carlton Hotel, circa 1910. All housed in an specially made clam-shell box bound in half mid-tan calf with tan cloth boards. The spine with raised bands and gilt lettering.
- Auguste Escoffier's tenure at the Carlton lasted from 1899 - 1819. His Carte du Jour menu is dated 1908. The two menus from 4 Carlton Gardens, which was the residence of Lord Balfour (Ex-Prime Minister) are believed to be Escoffier's. This cannot be proven, but the menus were a part of a large amount of purely Escoffier ephemera that this compiler purchased. The recipe booklet and four page advertisement sheet features products and recipes promoting 'Escoffier's Sauces' that were produced and sold by his company - 'Escoffier (1907) Ltd' at 6 Ridgemont Street, Tottenham Court Road, London. Mons. Eugene Herbodeau was a one-time protege of Escoffier's and also his literary executor. Together with Paul Thalamas he wrote and published a history and biography of his great mentor. He was commis Chef Poissonier under Escoffier at the Carlton in 1913. He also became Chef de Cuisine at the Carlton Hotel after Escoffier retired in 1819. In the black and white photograph, Escoffier is quite old and in civilian clothes. Herbodeau is in a Chefs uniform. As Escoffier passed away in 1935 we can assume this photograph was taken at the Carlton Hotel sometime before his death. An interesting footnote to Escoffier’s time at the Carlton, concerns the future President of North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh [HCM]. Before becoming President he worked in the hotel kitchens from 1913 to 1917. He was waiting quietly in London for events to unfold, secretly hoping the conflict in the colonial regime in Indochina would lead to its collapse. When HCM started his job in the spring of 1913, he was part of the kitchen washing and cleaning team. For the staff, it was not unusual to see wealthy and famous clients leaving a lot of food on their plates after their meals. Whenever HCM saw a large chunk of beefsteak or a large piece of chicken untouched, he would transfer them to a clean plate and send them back to the kitchen. One time Escoffier asked HCM, “Why didn’t you throw these into the bins like others do?” HCM answered, “These things shouldn’t be thrown away. You could give them to the poor.” Escoffier was amused and pleased, “My dear young friend, please listen to me! Leave your revolutionary ideas aside for now, and I will teach you the art of cooking, which will bring you a lot of money. Do you agree?” Shortly after this conversation, HCM was promoted to the pastry and cake section, and Escoffier taught him the art of fine French desserts. He followed the grand chef’s instructions diligently, and with a keen interest. On French pastries, especially the pâte brisé, HCM mastered the skill very quickly. Escoffier had pioneered the techniques on how to mix the ingredients, how to handle the dough, and the key steps in the baking process that would produce a light, fluffy, and crispy crust. From the beginning, HCM’s mentor had noticed his unusual intelligence, and he always appreciated HCMs thoughtfulness and polite manners. Escoffier had no doubt that HCM (one of his favourite chefs) could have had a promising career ahead of him in the world of French haute cuisine. The Carlton Hotel was in its time one of, if not the most famous hotel in the world. Unfortunately it existed for only forty years. It opened in 1899 and was completely destroyed by Nazi Germany during the London Blitz in early 1940, after 57 consecutive nights of air raids ordered by Hitler. Any ephemera and menus from Escoffier's and Herbodeau's time working there are extremely scarce, and to have this varied and unique collection is quite rare.

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Modern category
ref number: 11064

Savoy Hotel. London.       - Signed by Silvino Trompetto & Anton Adlemann & James Pare.
Food and Drink Book
THE SAVOY FOOD AND DRINK BOOK (With a picture of a Raspberry sorbet in a biscuit tulip 'en cage') PYRAMID
FIRST EDITION 1988. 210x275mm. 1fep with a b/w photo of Escoffier in top hat at an exhibition. On the verso is a photo of a signed drawing of Francoise Latry, the Savoy Maitre Chef de Cuisines, from 1919 to 1924. Also on the page is the the signature of the Executive Chef, James Pare. Half title with a planche with Trompetto’s signature and a photograph of him in the Savoy kitchen. Frontispiece of Richard D’Oyly Carte. Title page with Adelmann’s signature. Verso with ISBN. 1p Contents. Verso with foyer photograph. 7-9 Introduction. 10-36 + (1) One hundred glorious years. Verso with photograph of chefs. (1)40-207. Verso with photograph of barman. (1)210-221 Cocktail recipes with photographs. 222-224 Index. 1fep. D/J in fine condition. With white cloth binding and gilt writing on spine. Also enclosed are seven pages of nicely produced banqueting menus and a 1916 Savoy leaving certificate of a former Sous Chef; A. Cadier. Very fine condition; as new.
- The Savoy Food and Drink Book is a fine testimony to the excellence of its cuisine. From the historical introduction by Kingsley Amis and the twenty-eight pages detailing ‘One Hundred Glorious Years’ we learn that Richard D’Oyly Carte, originally the impresario behind the Savoy Theatre, was making so much money he invested in the building of the Savoy Hotel on land next to the theatre. The hotel opened in August 1889 and D’Oyly Carte then extended his Midas touch by hiring Cesar Ritz and Auguste Escoffier. Within its first year the Savoy was recognised as the standard for all hotels to emulate. Escoffier and Ritz stayed for ten years and then moved to the newly opened Carlton Hotel in 1899. Their noble and distinguished clientele followed them there. The Savoy never lost its true mystique as a great Hotel and institution. It has been a place of meeting and prominence with members of Royalty, the British establishment, the Arts and Entertainment since its inception. With every recipe in the book accompanied by a fine coloured photograph one gets an honestly great cookbook. The enclosed ephemera, further enhances; the Private Room menus are from the time of Anton Edlemann’s tenure. The other item of ephemera is a Savoy leaving certificate (written in French!) for Adolphe Cadier who was a Sous Chef from July 1915 to August 1916. Also attached to the certificate is a photograph of Cadier and a copy of a letter from Escoffier to Cadier, ironically written by Escoffier while he was at the Carlton. The book is also unique in having the signatures of three of its maitre-chefs de cuisines; Silvino Trompetto and Anton Adlemann, and the signature of the most recent Executive Chef, James Pare, who finished his tenure there on 24th October 2014. In 1938 Hugh Wontner joined the Savoy hotel group and he became managing director in 1941. Under Wontner's leadership, the Savoy appointed its first British head chef, Silvino Trompetto, who was maître-chef de cuisine from 1965 to 1980. Anton Adlemann came to England from Munich in 1971 and started at the Savoy under Trompetto. When he became maitre-chef, Adelmann oversaw the rebuilding of brand new kitchens at a cost of £3.5 million. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth visited them on 5th December 1985. Escoffier’s old ovens which had been in continuous use from 1895 to1985, were finally mothballed. The Savoy has a world-wide reputation and a great history. I have tried every recipe in the book when I was in charge of my own kitchens. Every one worked, and produced very good results. Unlike many other cookery books that have recipes incorporated after maybe one trial at most, the Savoy recipes have been tried and tested over many years. This in-house sumptuously produced signed book with added ephemera is a real collector’s item.

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Information

Modern category
ref number: 11096

Bocuse.   Paul     - Signed book and signed menu.
The New Cuisine.
Title in a red printed border. Translated by Colette Rossant and Lorraine Davis. Hart Davis, Macgibbon. GRANADA PUBLISHING London Toronto, Sydney and New York.
FIRST ENGLISH EDITION 1977. (First French edition 1976). 250x180x60mm. 4to. Paste-down and end-paper with Bocuse’s menu. [1] Half-title with an old-paper planche with Bocuse’s signature dated 1993. [2] Frontispiece of a coloured photograph of Bocuse in his restaurant dining room. Title page in orange paper. 1p Printers ISBN. 1p Dedication. [1] 1p Contents. [1] 2p Forward by Colette Rossant. 1p About the Author. [1] (1)xiv-xix Introduction by Paul Bocuse. [1] (1)xxii-xxiv Cooking Techniques. (3)4-672. All the pages in red and black text. 1p General Index. [1] (1)676-695. [1] 1p Index of French Recipe Titles. [1] (1)700-711.[2] End paste-down and end-paper with Bocuse’s menu. Red cardboard hard cover and spine with white label. As new d/w. As new inside and out.
- Paul Bocuse was born on February 11th, 1926 in Collonges-au-Mont-d’Or; his restaurant is in that same house today. The Bocuse family of millers and restaurant proprietors, have lived in this part of France since 1634. Bocuse always returns to his beloved market in nearby Lyons. Bocuse’s father, also a chef, made the grand tour, serving as an apprentice in many of the most celebrated restaurants in France, before settling in Collonges and taking over the restaurant of his grandfather. In 1941 his son, young Paul, was apprenticed to one of his father’s friends, Claude Maret in Lyons. Paul was soon caught up in the WW11 and wounded. When the war ended, he quickly won a place at the renowned 3 star establishment of 'La Mere Brazier' outside Lyons. From there he moved to another of his father’s friends, the famous Fernand Point at his 3 star restaurant 'La Pyramide' at Vienne, and then to complete his education, taking another 3 star post at the 'Restaurant Lucas Carton'. Finally, in 1959, he succeeded his father at Collonges, and in only two years he won his first star, and at the same time the accolade of Meilleur Ouvrier de France Cuisinier. A second star followed in 1962 and a third in 1965. In February of 1975 Bocuse was made a member of the Legion d’Honneur by President Valery Giscard d Estaing in recognition of his services as an ambassador of French cuisine. (This follows a historic French gastronomic occasion when August Escoffier was the first Chef recognised and promoted to an Officier de la Legion d’Honneur at the Orsay Palace on March 22nd 1928). On this occasion Bocuse also prepared the official dinner at the Elysee Palace. Bocuse was one of the leading exponents of ‘la nouvelle cuisine’, the new style of French cooking which combines traditional French culinary knowledge with the modern innovation that allows it to keep its unique position in world cooking and cuisines. The uniqueness is also helped by the recognition and awarding of the highest French honours being bestowed on these lauded craftsmen.

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Information

Modern category
ref number: 11178

Nutt.   Frederick     - an untrimmed copy.
THE IMPERIAL AND ROYAL COOK;
CONSISTING OF THE MOST SUMPTUOUS MADE DISHES, RAGOUTS, FRICASSES, SOUPS, GRAVIES,&c. Foreign and English: INCLUDING THE LATEST IMPROVEMENTS IN FASHIONABLE LIFE. SECOND EDITION. BY FREDERICK NUTT. AUTHOR OF THE COMPLETE CONFECTIONER. LONDON; PRINTED FOR SAMUEL LEIGH, STRAND; AND BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1819
8vo 195x120mm. 1fep. Half title. [2] Frontispiece with signature 'Frederic Nutt Esq.' Engraved by Woodman from a Drawing by Satchell. Title Page. (1)vi-viii Advertisements. (1)x-xxiv Contents. (1)2-268. (1)270-276 Index. 1fep. Original cardboard boards with advertisements on both sides. Lightly age browned but still very clearly legible. Rebacked with 1/4 dark brown modern calf with raised bands with fine gilt tooling. Two labels, one red and one black with gilt lettering. Internally very clean with original untrimmed edges. A very good copy.
- The original advertisements on the front cover gives all the information for this book. Two interesting points; It states this is the second edition but the date on the cover is 1820, while on the title page it states 1819. The back cover is a full advert for Nutt's other famous book 'The Complete Confectioner' also dated 1820. The first edition for this book is 1809 and the first edition of 'The Complete Confectioner' is 1789. Also of interest, Nutt has his first name on the front cover spelt Frederic, and on the back as Frederick. Bitting has this second of 1819, Oxford the first of 1809, Cagle the first also, and the BL one of each. A very scarce book especially untrimmed and with the original boards.

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Information

Antiquarian category
ref number: 11026

JOHNSON.   MARY     Rare at auction.
Madam JOHNSON's Present; Or, the best INSTRUCTIONS:
FOR [YOUNG WOMEN,] (printed in red) IN Useful and Universal Knowledge, WITH [A Summary of the late Marriage Act,] (printed in red), and Instructions how to marry pursuant thereto. Digested under the following HEADS. 1. An Estimate of the Ex-penses of a Family in the middling Station of Life. 11. The Art and Terms of Carving Fish, Fowl, and Flesh. 111. A Bill of Fare for e-very Month in the Year for Dinner and Supper, and also for extraordinary Occasions. (a single vertical line) 1V. The young Woman's Guide to Knowledge. V. A new English Spell-ing Dictionary. V1. The Compleat Mar-ket-woman. V11. The Cook's Guide for dressing all Sorts of Flesh, Fowl and Fish. V111. Pickling, Pastry, and Confectionary. (end columns) [With several useful TABLES, being the compleatest Book of its Kind ever published.](printed in red) (a single horizontal line) The Compiler, Madam JOHNSON, in order to make this Book come as cheap as possible to the Purchasers, has, out of her Benevolence, fixed the Price at 1s 6d. Bound, Tho' it contains double the Quantity that is usually sold for that Sum. (a double horizontal line). [LONDON] (in red print). Printed for M.Cooper. Pater-noster-row; and C. Sympson, at the Bible, Chancery-lane. 1754. Price 1s 3d, bound 1s 6d. Also containing a loosely inserted letter addressed to the late bookseller Mike McKirdy, owner of the now defunct 'CooksBooks', in a reply from the Brotherton Library, Leeds University, to a query about the text of this cookery book.
FIRST EDITION as such. Large 12mo. 170 X 103 mm. no fep. Frontispiece on verso, recto blank. Title page. [1] 2p un-numbered, Preface. (1)vi-xiii. (1)2-222. 2p Table of Contents. 1fep. Title page browned top margin - no loss. Very slightly age-browned. Full contemporary brown calf with nice patina. Spine cracked at front cover, but holding well, with small pieces at both ends missing. MacLean pp.75-77. Bitting p.247. Cagle p.782. Oxford p.83. Vicaire p.465. Provenance: Ink inscription - E. Guertz. 1754 on recto of Frontis.
- Researching Mary Johnson's book, there was, besides the heading and chapters on the book itself surprising little information about her. In Oxford page p83, there is a book titled 'The Young Woman's Companion' dated 1753. It is compiled by Mary Johnson, proclaiming her for many years a Superintendent of a Lady of quality's Family in the city of York. Oxford states further that there are many points of difference from 'The Young Woman's Companion' and this copy of 'Madam Johnson's Present'. MacLean even presents them as two different books. One thing is clear that Mary Johnson was in a position of management. As such, the books are compilations of previous facts, the headings pertaining to important knowledge assembled for instructions to her staff, which was then taken to its conclusion; That of an interesting and wide-ranging printed domestic and cookery book.

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Information

Antiquarian category
ref number: 11162

Escoffier.   Georges Auguste     - The first edition - 1903.
Le Guide Culinaire.
BIBLIOTHEQUE PROFESSIONNELLE Le Guide Culinaire AIDE-MEMOIRE DE CUISINE PRATIQUE Par A. ESCOFFIER AVEC LA COLLABOATION De MM. Phileas GILBERT - E. FETU A. Suzanne, B. Reboul, Ch, Dietrich, A. Caillat, ETC. Dessins de Victor Morin - Je place ce livre sous le ptronage psthume de Urbain Dubois et Emile Bernard, en teimoignage de mon admiration pour ceux qui, depuis Careme ont porte le plus haut la gloire de l'Art Culiniare. A.E. - (printers device of two olive branches) PARIS 1903 - Tous droits de traduction et de reproduction reserves pour tous les pays, y compris le Suede, la Norvege et le Danemark.
FIRST EDITION. 224x145mm. Front paste-down and end-paper with marbled paper. 2feps. Missing the half title with with advertisements on verso . Title page. Escoffier's facsimile signature on the verso. (1)V1-V11 Avant Propos. Verso with Abbreviations. (1)X Remarques. 1p Advertisement. Verso with Tables de Chapitres. (1)2-766. 1p Methode de Repartition. 768-769 Menus. 1p plus 1 Folding plate showing service times and tasks. 771-786 Menus. (1)788-790 Table. (1)+p792 Errata. 4p Advertisements. 2feps. Back end-paper and paste-down with marbled paper. All paper age browned and slightly brittle which is typical of this and other books of this time, due to poor paper being used. First 4 pages and last page are are preserved and protected by clear tissue and the folding plate has been backed by clear tissue one of the folds separated but held by the tissue. The last 2pages are a little more darkened than the rest. New modern bottle green morocco boards and brown morocco spine with raised bands and tooled gilt devices and writing between the compartments. First editions are very scarce.
- Escoffier's great classic. Incomparable in many ways, not least in the fact it laid out what is now the modern Kitchen brigade with its departments clearly delineated and all recipes recorded that are still widely used today as the basics in most big Kitchen brigades. A mark of its classic place in Gastronomic history is that the recipes are still the basis of most Culinary schools curriculum. The great man is being re-discovered in this day and age once again. A sign of his lasting impact and a true appreciation for the skills and basically true recipes he used and recorded, in a time when change has become almost the norm, and food fads abound.

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Information

Modern category
ref number: 11194

Tusser.   Thomas     - A popular Tudor work.
Tusser Redivivus:
Being part of Five Hundred POINTS of HUSBANDRY; DIRECTING What Corn, Grass, &c. is proper to be sown; What Trees to be Planted; How Land is to be Improved: with what ever is fit to be done for the Benefit of the Farmer in every Month of the Year. To which is added NOTES and OBSERVATIONS explaining many obsolete Terms in the said Mr Tusser, and what is agreeable to the present Practice in several Counties of this Kingdom. A WORK very necessary and useful for Gentlemen, as well as Farmers and Occupiers of Land, whether Wood-Ground, Tillage or Pasture. [a fine straight line] LONDON: Printed, and are to be sold by J. Morphew near Stationers-Hall. 1720. [the whole page with neat double-line border].
190.5 x 127 mm. Twelve monthly parts in eleven (as published, with November and December on the last title page). 1 new fep. Main Title page. [1] January - Title page, Preface on the verso, 3-16 and separate pagination. February - Title page. 3-16 and separate pagination. March - Title page. 2-16 and separate pagination. April - Title page [1]. 3-16 and separate pagination. May - Title page [1]. 3-16 and separate pagination. June - Title page. 2-16 and separate pagination. July - Title page. 2-16 and separate pagination. August - Title page. 2-16 and separate pagination. September - Title page. 2-16 and separate pagination. October- Title page. 2-16 and separate pagination. November and December - Title page. 2-16 and separate pagination. 1page Advertisement. 1 new fep. The Title page has a small repair at the top of the page with no loss. Illustrated with fine large woodcut vignettes in each chapter. (the first 4 vignettes very nicely and pleasingly coloured in yellow). The whole text block is slightly age-browned and clean. Nicely bound in modern full tan calf with raised bans on the spine, with a red calf label and gilt lettering. Overall very good complete copy.
- First printed in 1557, this book has a charming format, giving instructions on farming in England throughout the year. An early adherent of seasonality, Tusser's writing is both witty and informative. His major work was first the ‘Hundredth Good Pointes of Husbandrie’, published by Richard Tottel and frequently reprinted. Tottel published an enlarged edition ‘Five Hundreth Pointes of Good Husbandrie’ in 1573. Tusser includes a homely mix of instructions and observations about farming and country customs which offer a fascinating insight into life in Tudor England, and his work records many terms and proverbs in print for the first time (eg: A fool and his money are soon parted). In this work, he also famously presents ten characteristics the perfect cheese must have: --- "Not like Gehazi, i.e., dead white, like a leper. Not like Lot's wife, all salt. Not like Argus, full of eyes. Not like Tom Piper, "hoven and puffed". Not like Crispin, leathery. Not like Lazarus, poor. Not like Esau, hairy. Not like Mary Magdalene, full of whey or maudlin. Not like the Gentiles, full of maggots. Not like a Bishop, made of burnt milk". --- The work is written in verse in Gothic script and takes the form of a calendar with instructions in normal script to the farmer on what he should be doing in each month. In August there is a page on the gathering and storing of hops which were only introduced in the early 16th century but are here referred to as a common crop. As well as the growing, care and harvesting of crops and animals, there is advice to the house-wife on the care of foodstuffs. (In the 1744 edition there is a section on ‘Houswifery’ which runs from pages 119 – 138). Thomas Tusser had a very varied life. His father William and his mother Isabella had as well as Thomas, four other sons, Clement, Andrew, John and William, and four daughters; the marriages of the daughters are recorded, but no wives assigned to the sons. Thomas was born at Rivenhall near Kelvedon and Witham, in the County of Essex, about the year 1525. The exact date of his birth is uncertain. At a very early age he was placed by his father as a singing-boy in the Collegiate Chapel of the Castle of Wallingford, in Berkshire. Thomas himself recorded in his homely and quaint style the hardships which he had to endure at this school; the bare robes, the college fare, the stale bread, and the penny ale. Later he was impressed into the choir for the King's Chapel. After this he was admitted to the choir of St. Paul’s Cathedral. From St. Paul's he was sent to Eton, probably in 1540 or 1541, "to learn the Latin phrase," From Eton he passed on to Cambridge, and was elected to King's College in 1543. Being obliged by a long illness to discontinue his studies, he left the University, and joined the Court as a retainer of William, Lord Paget, by whom he was probably employed as a musician, and of whom he spoke in terms of praise and affection. After ten years he retired into the country, married and settled down as a farmer at Cattiwade, a hamlet in the parish of Brantham in Suffolk, where he wrote the first edition of this work. He never remained long in one place. For his wife's health, he removed to Ipswich. After her death, he married again, and farmed for some time at West Dereham. He then became a singing man again in Norwich Cathedral, where he found a good patron in the dean, John Salisbury. After another experiment in farming at Fairstead, Essex, he moved once again to London, whence he was driven by the plague of 1572–1573 to find refuge at Trinity Hall, being matriculated as a servant of the college in 1573. At the time of his death he was in possession of a small estate at Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, and his will proves that he was not, as has sometimes been stated, in poverty of any kind, but had in some measure the thrift he preached. Tusser died on 3 May 1580 at the age of about 55. An erroneous inscription at Manningtree, Essex, asserts that he was 65 years old. According to John Stow's Survey of London, Cheape Ward, Thomas Tusser was buried in the now lost church of St Mildred in the Poultry. The inscription on his tomb there was as follows: "Here Thomas Tusser, clad in earth, doth lie, That sometime made the pointes of Husbandrie; By him then learne thou maiest; here learne we must, When all is done, we sleepe, and turne to dust: And yet, through Christ, to Heaven we hope to goe; Who reades his bookes, shall find his faith was so." Cagle - A Matter of Taste, p1034-1035. Bitting - Gastronomic Bibliography, p468. Lehman - The British Housewife, P29. Pollard & Redgrave – STC 1475 to 1640, p568-569 showing 20 editions up to 1638.

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Antiquarian category
ref number: 11247

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

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

TOKLAS.   ALICE B.     A rare signed presentation inscription from the Author.
Aromas and Flavors of Past and Present.
PRESENT (small printer's device) Alice B. Toklas WITH INTRODUCTION AND COMMENTS BY POPPY CANNON (small printer's device) HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
FIRST EDITION. 1958. 215x145 mm 1fep with signed inscription " For Patricio and John Lucas - In friendship - Beautifully Alice". [1] Half-title. [1] Title page. Verso with K-H to printer's details. 1p Contents. [1] vii-xxiii Introduction by Poppy Cannon. [1] xxv-xxvi Preface. Another Half-title. [1] 1-160 161-164 Index. 1fep. Near fine D/J with 1x5mm small chip. Price-clipped. Quarter red cloth spine with gilt lettering. Blue paper covers. On the bottom of the front inside cover under the d/j is a tipped-in simple book-plate of JOHN S. LUCAS. Text block as new.
- Toklas's 'Aromas and Flavors' was her second cookbook following the huge popularity of her 'Cook Book' pub: 1954. (see item # 11098 above). In Poppy Cannon's introduction, she describes the rich years of Toklas's and Gertrude Stein's close relationship as one in which Miss Stein wrote and talked, while Miss Toklas cooked and talked. It appears, by Toklas's output of two cookery books, that she also inherited some of Stein's skills. She is also praised by Cannon for being steeped in the traditions of classic French cuisine and a great respect for seventeenth-century gastronomy. A scan of the recipes throws up some unusual dishes: An intriguing Ham & Oyster pie, a diet defying Sweetbread Salad, a humble Sauerkraut with Pig's Trotter, a Duck with Delicate Aspic to be served in candlelight, possibly with Cabbage Pancakes to accompany. One other recipe to catch the eye is Puff Pastry made with Olive Oil instead of butter. One gets a sense of a very serious cook who does a lot of research and is attracted to eccentric dishes. One can imagine the constant company of great artists such as Picasso, Matisse et al, that she and Gertrude Stein regularly entertained, in whom the norm is anything but; therefore one sees in her interesting and unusual cook book the gastronomic norm that the eccentric but creative Toklas embraces. No other recipe in her book personifies this but the "Kidneys in Champagne'. Recommended firstly to use pig or veal kidneys, but failing this, instead of purchasing the nicer tasting Lamb kidneys she recommends Chicken Livers. One can see the influence of early French cuisine that one senses Toklas had a great respect for and she seriously tries to offer this in her cook book. A noble effort. This is initially a very scarce Toklas 2nd title made rare, as no other signed copy has been traced nor appeared in auction.

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Modern category
ref number: 11335