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Collingwood. F and Woolams. J. - The very rare first edition.
THE UNIVERSAL COOK,
AND City and Country Housekeeper. CONTAINING ALL THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF COOKERY: THE DIFFERENT METHODS OF DRESSING Butchers Meat, Poultry, Game, and Fish; AND OF PREPARING GRAVIES, CULLICES, SOUPS, AND BROTHS; TO DRESS ROOTS AND VEGETABLES, AND TO PREPARE Little elegant Dishes for Supper or light Repasts: TO MAKE ALL SORTS OF PIES. PUDDINGS, PANCAKES, AND FRITTERS; CAKES, PUFFS, AND BISCUITS; CHEESECAKES, TARTS, AND CUSTARDS; CREAMS AND JAMS; BLANC MANGE, FLUMMERY, ELEGANT ORNAMENTS, JELLIES, AND SYLLABUBS. The various Articles in CANDYING, DRYING, PRESERVING, AND PICKLING. THE PREPARATION OF HAMS, TONGUES, BACON, &C. DIRECTIONS FOR TRUSSING POULTRY, CARVING, AND MARKETING. THE MAKING AND MANAGEMENT OF Made Wines, Cordial Waters, and Malt Liquors. Together with Directions for Baking Bread, the Management of Poultry and the Dairy, and the Kitchens and Fruit Garden; with a Catalogue of the Various articles in Season in the different Months of the Year. Besides a Variety of USEFUL AND INTERESTING TABLES. The Whole Embellished with The Heads of the Authors, Bills of Fare for every Month in the Year, and proper Subjets for the Improvement of the Art of Carving, elegantly engraved on fourteen Copper-Plates. By FRANCIS COLLINGWOOD, AND JOHN WOOLLAMS. Principal Cooks at the Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand, Late from the London Tavern. LONDON: PRINTED BY R. NOBLE, FOR J. SCATCHERD AND J. WHITAKER, NO. 12, AVE-MARIA-LANE. 1792.
FIRST EDITION. 8vo. 2feps with 2 previous owners signatures. Half title. [2] Frontispiece of both authors. Title page. [1] 2p. Preface. 20p Contents. 12 engraved plates of bills of fare for every month, with each verso blank. (curiously they have been bound in out of monthly order. All are present). (1)2-432. 433-444 A Catalogue of seasonal articles. 445-451 Marketing Tables. 2feps. Original full dark calf covered boards with blind tooled lines on the boards. The spine with blind tooled lines. With a dark red label and gilt lettering. Overall has a nice patina. Besides very light age browning to frontispiece and plates , the text block is very clean. Overall, a nice copy.
- F. Collingwood and J. Woollams were the Principal cooks at the Crown and Anchor Tavern on the south side of the Strand, London WC1. Strype the historian informs us, that in 1729 an original tavern called the Crown occupied the same site. The Anchor was added to the name shortly after that date, in honour of St Clements Church nearby; an anchor being the emblem of the patron saint who suffered his martyrdom by being cast into the sea with an anchor tied to his neck. The site began a few doors down Arundel St. and extended to Milford Lane. It had an entrance from the Strand thro’ a narrow courtyard. The tavern was very famous and very well frequented by the rich, famous and important members of English high society. Dr Johnson made it his second home. Taking his daily walks with his friend Boswell past Temple Bar, going westward, the Crown and Anchor was their port of call and also of many of their confreres. It was here that Dr Jonson’s famous spat with Percy took place. The Academy of Music was first started at the Tavern. The house was pulled down in 1790 and rebuilt. A very large banqueting room was erected, measuring 85x36 feet, and when packed could hold 2500 guests. It was first opened on the occasion of a birthday dinner given to Charles James Fox, M.P. and presided over by the Duke of Norfolk. The room was used for fine balls and political meetings of both the Tories and radical Parties; anyone in fact who could pay the high prices. The Tavern became the headquarters of one party or another during the Westminster parliamentary elections. It is recorded that Daniel O’Conner M.P., Brougham Cobbet, Sir Francis Burdett and others, held meetings that always crowded the room. After the 1790 rebuild, the first landlord was a famous, very large obese man; Thomas Simkin. He famously died by leaning on the upstairs banister, and calling down some instructions, the banister gave way under his huge weight and he toppled to his death below. The Tavern had elegant booths opened for their customers at the courses during the racing season and the main fairs. As well as refreshments they also held dances. Sadly, in 1854 the Tavern burned down. Afterwards the Duke of Norfolk built Arundel House on the site and further afield. This great Tavern is the establishment where Collingwood and Woollams established their substantial reputation. They had the unique distinction of having this first edition of 1792; ‘The Universal Cook’, being translated into French and sold in France. Published in Paris in 1810 it was re-named ‘ Le Cuisinier Anglais Universal ou le Nec Plus Ultra de la Gourmandise’. This was the time of the war with Napoleon, but the reputation of London food and its Cooks stood high with foreigners. This book is a record of professional 18th century English gastronomy, as opposed to the cookery books written for the housewife. As can be read on the title page, it has extensive instructions for all the tasks undertaken in such an important Tavern and its Kitchen. The equally rare second edition was published in 1797 with very little change; see item ref #: 11131. See also, item ref #: 11035 for a rare dinner invitation to the Crown and Anchor Tavern when Collingwood and Woolllams were the head cooks.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11227

Dali. Salvador With a fine surreal lithograph of a peach, signed by Dali in pencil.
les diners de Gala
translated by Captain J. Peter Moore FELICIE, INC.- PUBLISHERS - NEW YORK
1st EDITION. 1973. Thick 4to. 350 x 220 x 35 mm. Inside cover and first page with Illustration of bread and signed by an indistinctly named husband to his wife. [2] Frontis of Dali. Title Page. 8 - 316. 317 - 321 Table of Contents. [1] A dedication page for the origins of the book's recipes. 1 fep and inside end cover with a fantastic illustration of 4 nude women dining. Hardcover with bright gold, foil-like wildly illustrated dust jacket. Overall, exceptionally fine condition. Also inserted inside is a fine lithograph of an apple and leaves in colour. Being a Dali creation, it is not just an apple, but has a quickly done line drawing of a guitarist in a landscape. Numbered 181/250. With Dali's distinct signature in pencil.
- This production by the great Spanish Surrealist painter Salvador Dali, has to be defined as one of the most interesting and unusual cookery books ever published, with recipes by the Chefs of famous Paris restaurants, such as Lasserre, La Tour d’Argent, Maxim’s, and Le Train Bleu (Le Buffet de la Gare de Lyon). The chapters are as follows: 1 Les caprices pincés princiers exotic dishes: 2 Les cannibalismes de l'automne eggs - sea food: 3 Les suprêmes de malaises lilliputiens first course: 4 Les entre-plats sodomisés meals: 5 Les spoutniks astiqués d'asticots statistiques snails - frogs: 6 Les panaches panachés fish - shell fish: 7 Les chairs monarchiques game - poultry: 8 Les montres molles 1/2 sommeil pork: 9 L'atavisme désoxyribonucléique vegetables: 10 Les "je mange GALA" aphrodisiacs: 11 Les pios nonoches sweets - dessert: 12 Les délices petits matryrs hors-d'œuvre: It is also an outstanding art book that not only has very good recipes, but is a wonder to read. Dali also notes in the introduction that his book is not designed for anyone watching their waistline. Born on 11 May 1904, at 8:45 am GMT in Figueres, Catalonia, Salvador Dalí was a skilled artist and draftsman best known for the striking and bizarre images in his work. His painting skills are often attributed to the influence and fine finishing of Renaissance masters. His best-known work, The 'Persistence of Memory', was completed in August 1931, and is one of the most recognisable Surrealist paintings. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire included film, sculpture, and photography, at times in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media. This book of cookery is an unusual addition to his norm. Dalí was highly imaginative, and also enjoyed indulging in unusual and grandiose behaviour. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric manner and attention-grabbing public actions sometimes drew more attention than his artwork. Dalí attended drawing school. In 1916, he also discovered modern painting on a summer vacation trip to Cadaqués with the family of Ramon Pichot, a local artist who made regular trips to Paris. The next year, Dalí's father organized an exhibition of his son's charcoal drawings in their family home. He had his first public exhibition at the Municipal Theatre in Figueres in 1918. In early 1921 the Pichot family introduced Dalí to Futurism and Dalí's uncle Anselm Domenech, who owned a bookshop in Barcelona, supplied him with books and magazines on Cubism and contemporary art. On 6 February 1921, Dalí's mother died of uterine cancer. Dalí was 16 years old; he later said his mother's death "was the greatest blow I had experienced in my life. I worshipped her... I could not resign myself to the loss of a being on whom I counted to make invisible the unavoidable blemishes of my soul. After her death, Dalí's father married his deceased wife's sister. Dalí did not resent this marriage, because he had great love and respect for his aunt. In 1929, Dalí collaborated with the surrealist film director Luis Buñuel on the short film 'Un Chien Andalou' (An Andalusian Dog). His main contribution was to help Buñuel write the script for the film. Dalí later claimed to have also played a significant role in the filming of the project, but this is not substantiated by contemporary accounts. Also, in August 1929, Dalí met his lifelong and primary muse and future wife Gala, born Elena Ivanovna Diakonova. She was a Russian immigrant ten years his senior, who at that time was married to surrealist poet Paul Éluard. In the same year, Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris. The Surrealists hailed what Dalí called his paranoiac-critical method of accessing the subconscious for greater artistic creativity. Gala first met Dalí that year during a trip to Cadaques with her family and the artist Magritte and his wife. Despite the ten-year age gap, the love affair between Dalí and Gala quickly developed. In 1948 Dalí and Gala moved back into their house in Port Lligat, on the coast near Cadaqués. For the next three decades, he would spend most of his time there painting, taking time off and spending winters with his wife in Paris and New York. Gala died on 10 June 1982, at the age of 87. After Gala's death, Dalí lost much of his will to live. He deliberately dehydrated himself. On the morning of 23 January 1989, while his favourite record of Tristan and Isolde played, Dalí died of heart failure at the age of 84. He is buried in the crypt below the stage of his Theatre and Museum in Figueres. The location is across the street from the church of Sant Pere, where he had his baptism, first communion, and funeral, and is only 450 metres from the house where he was born. An amazing unparalleled life. This book and lithograph, a fantastic insight and glimpse of the great artist. Only around 400 copies of Les Diners de Gala are known to survive. However, Taschen has finally published and made this rare book available for the first time in 43 years as a new reprinted 2nd edition.

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Modern category

ref number: 11252

Warner. Richard - With a signed hand written letter from Warner.
Antiquitates Culinariae;
or Curious Tracts relating to the Culinary affairs of the Old English, With a preliminary discourse, Notes, and Illustrations, By The Reverend Richard Warner, of Sway, near Lymington, Hants. Printed for R. Blamire Strand, London, 1791.
FIRST & SOLE EDITION. Large 4to. 1feps with a tipped in hand written letter from Richard Warner. [1] Frontispiece - an aquatint plate of 'A Saxon Entertainment' Engraved title-page. [2] 1 double-paged aquatint plate of the famous 'Peacock Feast'. (1)ii-lvii Preliminary Discourse. [1] (1)-l The Contents. [1]2-137. [1]1fep. Occasional very minor spotting, else a very well-preserved wide-margined large paper copy. Rare original cloth boards and leather spine with gilt lettering. Both ends of the spine slightly rubbed and a crack on one side but still solid. The tipped in 1p hand written letter from the Rev.Richard Warner to 'Mr Dear Sir' asking for a facsimile "of the words per me Ric. Abbem at the foot of the acknowledgement of supremecy of Hen: VIII." 110x160mm with very minor blemishes just above the signature. Dated 14th August 1825 - Weston super Mare, Somerset.
- Richard Warner (1763–1857), divine and antiquary, born in Marylebone, London, on 18 Oct. 1763, was the son of Richard Warner, ‘a respectable London tradesman.’ Early in his sixth year he was sent to a boarding-school near London, and remained there until his father removed, with his family, to Lymington in Hampshire, described by him in his ‘Literary Recollections’. On 19 Oct. 1787 he matriculated from St. Mary Hall, Oxford, and kept eight terms at the university, but left without taking a degree. About 1790 Warner was ordained by William Markham, archbishop of York, his title being the curacy of Wales, near Rotherham, where he stayed for three months, the curacy of his vicarage of Boldre, near Lymington for nearly four years. The influence of Gilpin's tastes was afterwards perceptible in the topographical writings of Warner. Then the more lucrative curacy of Fawle for over two years; but the situation did not agree with his family. The chapel of All Saints, Bath, in the parish of Walcot, was opened for divine service on 26 Oct. 1794, and Warner was placed in charge of it as curate to John Sibley, rector of the mother parish. In April 1795 he accepted the curacy of the populous parish of St. James's, Bath, and he continued in that position for about twenty-two years, preaching his farewell sermon on 23 March 1817. For many years after his settlement at Bath, Warner was the best-known man of letters in that city, and he knew all the literary men who frequented it. Warner was appointed on 13 May 1809 to the rectory of Great Chalfield in Wiltshire, which he enjoyed until his death. In the 1826 list of fellows of the Society of Antiquaries his name appears as elected, but he was never admitted. He died on 27 July 1857, when nearly ninety-four years of age, and was buried on 11 Aug. 1857 in the chancel of Chelwood church, a monument being erected to his memory. The widow, Anne [‘Pearson’], died at Widcombe Cottage, Bath, on 23 March 1865, aged 85, and was buried at Chelwood. One daughter, Ellen Rebecca Warner, was also buried there on 18 Sept. 1833. Warner's voluminous writings comprised over 44 various volumes. Given this huge output, one wonders if the people of his many parishes knew what he looked like. This, his infamous book, ‘Antiquitates Culinariæ: Tracts on Culinary Affairs of the Old English,’ 1791 attracted the attention and ire of John Carter (1748–1817) who prosecuted him for pirating in this work his print of the ‘Peacock Feast,’ and got a verdict for 20l guineas. The print was therefore torn from all the copies then unsold. This action cost Warner 70l guineas in all. Interestingly, Warner had been told that Carter had given permission for the reproduction. This fine original copy has survived with the ‘Peacock Feast’ plate intact.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11056

Beeton. Isabella Mary - 1st Edition - 1st issue.
The Book of Household Management
Comprising information for the MISTRESS, HOUSEKEEPER, COOK, KITCHEN-MAID, BUTLER, FOOTMAN, COACHMAN, VALET, UPPER AND UNDER HOUSE-MAIDS, LADY'S MAID, MAID-OF-ALL-WORK, LAUNDRY-MAID, NURSE AND NURSE-MAID, MONTHLY, WET AND SICK NURSES, ETC.ETC. ALSO SANITARY, MEDICAL AND LEGAL MEMORANDA; WITH A HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN, PROPERTIES, AND USES OF ALL THINGS CONNECTED WITH HOME LIFE AND COMFORT. BY MRS ISABELLA BEETON. "Nothing lovelier can be found in woman, than to study household good".-Milton. LONDON: S.O. BEETON, 248, STRAND, W.C. 1861.
FIRST EDITION, First issue. Thick 8vo. 2feps. Double chromo-lithographed frontispiece and elaborate title page with the Bouverie St address. Additional Title Page. [1] [iv-iv] [1] [vi-xxxix] including analytical index. [1] 2-1112. 2feps. 12 Colour plates. Original maroon half calf with maroon cloth boards and calf tips with gilt lines. Contemporary ornate gilt tooled spine relaid, with one panel used for book title. Faded gilt to page edges Overall slightly rubbed and faded but still very good. Clean internally with overall slight browning due to age. A handsome copy.
- Various editions of Beeton's cookery books are fairly numerous -- online, in auctions and in book-fairs, and the two issues of the first edition are far from rare, (although the first issue is very scarce) but they continue to maintain high prices, and are much sought after. This is accounted for by their far-reaching fame, and the fact that they are one of the most attractive cookery books ever published. Their famous double chromo-lithographed frontispiece and elaborate colourful first title page, additional second title page, the unique colour plates, dozens of page illustrations, comprehensive recipes, and chapters on all aspects of household management, are a great and true reflection of Victorian values, style and endeavor. "The Book of Household Management' was originally issued by Isabella in 24 monthly parts from 1859-61. The 24 parts, unlike the books are extremely rare. The book is a relatively small, but fat octavo, and holds a place in collectors affections that possibly other cookery books do not.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 10912

Menon. Louis Francois Henri de - In superb condition - as new.
The French Family Cook
BEING A complete System of French Cookery. Adapted to the Tables not only of the Opulent, but of Persons of moderate Fortune and Condition. CONTAINING Directions for choosing, dressing, and serving up all Sorts of Butcher Meat, Poultry, &c. The different Modes of making all kinds of Soups, Ragouts, Fricandeaus, Creams, Ratasias, Compots, Preserves, &c.&c. as well as a great Variety of cheap and elegant Side Dishes, calculated to grace a Table at a small Expence. Neccesary for Housekeepers, Butlers, Cooks, and all who are concerned in the Superintendence of a Family. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH. LONDON: Printed for J. BELL, No. 148, Oxford Street, nearly opposite New Bond Street. M.DCC.XCIII.
FIRST ENGLISH EDITION 1793. 8vo. 2feps. Title Page. [1] 6pp Bills of Fare. (1)iv-xxiv Contents. (1)2-342. 2pp Advertisements. Fully bound in modern mid-brown calf, with 18th century style blind tooled panelled fillet on the boards with blind tooled line borders. Spine with raised bands and gilt lines, red label with gilt lettering. Internally extremely clean, as new. A rare item especially in this immaculate condition.
- Although no author is named on the title page, this is the first English translation of Menon's - La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise, originally written in French, and published in Paris, 1746. Maclean notes a 4th edition of 1796 with an altered main title, although sub-titles unchanged. Menon's books excite a lot of interest but nothing was known of him, till very recently; Sophie of Sophie Schneideman Rare Books had an early two volume set of 'La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise' dated 1752. This set was the author’s own copy, signed on the first page. It was the copy from the Chateau de Villiers library according to small pen inscriptions on each title and tiny stamps on the first blanks. The first blank of the first volume bears the remarkable history of the book, written in ink in 1875. The story it relates is that the first owner of the book was Mrs. Menon. It next passed to Margueritte Menon, her daughter, who was married to Claude Dodant. The next recepient of the set was Anne Dodant, wife of Henri de Villemenard. Their son Charles de Villemenard next owned it, there-after going to to Marie de Villemenard and finally to the author of the note, Villiers. The note is initialed and dated. Interesting; this is now the most up-to-date information on Menon. Perhaps with this little bit, further relevant information can be garnered in the future. His books in French and English are much sought after and constitute an important addition to any cookery book collection.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 10940

Dubois. Urbain - His rarest work.
Grand Livre des Patissiers et des Confiseurs
PAR URBAIN-DUBOIS AUTEUR DE LA CUISINE ARTISTIQUE, DE LA CUISINE DE TOUS LES PAYS, DE LE CUISINE CLASSIQUE OUVERAGE EN DEUX PARTIES RENFERMENT CENT TRENTE-HUIT PLANCHES GRAVES Premier partie: 38 Panches PARIS LIBRAIRE E.DENTU, GALERIE D'ORLEANS, PALAIS-ROYAL ET DANS TOUTES LES GRANDES LIBRAIRIES 1883 Droites de tradnction [sic] et de reproduction reserves.
FIRST EDITION. 1883. 2 Volumes in one. Very thick 4to. 310x240x70mm. Marbled front paste-down. 1st Volume: 1fep. Half title. [1] Title Page. Verso with Dubois's facsimile signature. (1)viii Preface dated 1882. (1)x-xxiv La Patisserie with a double page engraving of a Grand Buffet de Bal. 1-338. 4 Full page plates with each verso blank. (1)b-i Table Alphabetique. [1] With 38 Planches. 2nd Volume: (1)350-698. (1)700-701 Table Alphabetique. [1] 1fep. [1] Back endpaper and paste-down marbled. With 100 Planches. With wonderful conditioned dark blue pebbled cloth boards and dark blue 1/2 morocco spine with raised bands and blind tooling, and with gilt lettering. Internally very clean with very mild foxing on occasion. A very good copy of a very scarce book.
- Urbain Dubois, born 1818 at Trets, Provence, died in 1901. This is the one of the scarcest of Dubois' books. It is a monumental work with the same striking visual impact as two of Dubois' other works -- 'La Cuisine Classique' 1856, and 'La Cuisine Artistique' 1870. The 138 plates of highly elaborate centerpieces of the Patissier's craft, some with armature designs for the structures of the desserts, and also with recipes for each dish, amaze and delight the reader. Research of documentation reveals that these labour intensive and time consuming centerpieces also graced the tables of Versailles, as early as the 17th century. A two volume set was also published and sold in the same year - 1883. It has exactly the same content and page collation, the only difference being the separate title page for the 2nd volume. This very scarce two volume - single book, is a handsome, thick and heavy tome. It is by far the hardest of Dubois' books to find. It is much sought after and commands very high prices at auction. Bitting p131, 2 volumes. Vicaire p291, 2 volumes. BL has one copy of 1895. Not in Cagle.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11074

Ellis. W. [William]
The Country Housewife's Family Companion:
Profitable Directions for whatever relates to the Management and good Economy of the Domestick Concerns of a Country Life, According to the Present Practice of the Country Gentlemen's, the Yeoman's, the Farmer's. &c. Wives, in the Counties of Hereford, Bucks, and other parts of England: SHEWING How great Savings may be made in Housekeeping: And wherein, among many others, The following Heads are particularly treated of and explained: 1. The Preservation and Improve-ments of Wheat, Barley, Rye, Oats, and other Meals; with Directions for making several Sorts of Bread, Cakes, Puddings, Pies, &c. 11. Frugal Management of Meats, Fruits, Roots, and all Sorts of Herbs; best Methods of Cookery; and a cheap Way to make Soups, Sauces, Gruels, &c. 111. Directions for the Farm Yard; with the best Method of increasing all Sorts of Poultry, as Turkies, Geese, Ducks, Fowls, &c. 1V. The best Way to breed and fatten Hogs; sundry curious an dcheap Methods of preparing Hogs Meat; Directions for curing Bacon, Brawn, pickled Pork, Hams, &c. with the Management of Sows and Pigs. V. The best Method of making Butter and Cheese, with several curious Particulars containing the whole Management of the Dairy. V1. The several Ways of making good Malt; with Directions for brewing good Beer, Ale, &c. With variety of Curious Matters, Wherein are contained frugal Method for victualling Harvest-men, Ways to destroy all Sorts of Vermin, the best Manner of suckling and fattening Calves, Prescriptions for curing all Sorts of Distempers in Cattle, with Variety of curious Receits for Pickling, Preserving, Distilling, &c. The Whole founded on near thirty years Experience by W. Ellis, Farmer, at Little Gaddesden, near Hempsted, Hertfords. LONDON: Printed for James Hodges, at the Looking-glass, facing St. Magnus Church, London-Bridge; and B. Collins, Bookseller, at Salisbury. 1750.
FIRST & SOLE EDITION: 8vo. 200x134mm. 1fep. [1] Frontispiece of rural farmyard. Title page. [1] (1)ii Preface. (1)iv-x Introduction.(1)2-379. 19p Contents. 2p Advertisements. 1fep. 4 pages of the contents with the bottom corner missing with no loss. It appears that it may have been bound as is. It has the original full brown calf with a lovely patina. The spine with raised bands with gilt lines and a double gilt line bordering the boards. With a red label and gilt lettering. With the bookplate of Mary Chadsey. Internally very clean. A wonderful copy.
- This is a very interesting and unusually well written book of recipes, many unusual country anecdotes and advice about farm animals. There are also long sections on brewing and distilling, and more about bread and grain cookery. Oxford also mentions the medical receipts, "many of the usual filthy nature". MacLean states it is of "special interest, namely the fact it is firmly based on experience in a given region - Essex and the country round about. It is one of the eighteenth-century books which convey a feeling of direct communication and of confidence that the author invariably knew what he was talking about". William Ellis lived and farmed at Little Gaddesden in Hertfordshire, although he was originally a London brewer. (His only other book on domestic economy was indeed about brewing.) He wrote several books of husbandry - and was famous enough to be visited by the Swedish traveller Per KaIm, who was shocked to find that Hertfordshire menfolk looked after the cattle and the women did very little indeed except prepare food, 'which they commonly do very well, though roast beef and puddings form nearly all an Englishman's eatables'. He obviously had not read this book by Ellis. Cagle, p469; Axford, p102; Bitting, p143; Oxford, p79; MacLean, p43; Simon BG, p588.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11082

Plat - Kt. Sir Hugh A very scrace book.
THE JEVVEL HOUSE.
OF Art and Nature: Containing Divers Rare and Profitable Inven-tions, together with sundry new Experiments in the Art of Husbandry. WITH Divers Chymical Conclusions concerning the Art of Distillation, and the rare practices and uses thereof. Faithfully and faniliarly set down, according to the Authors own Experience. (a single top line) By Sir Hugh Plat of Lincolns-Inne, Knight. (a single bottom line) Whereunto is added, A rare and excellent Discours of Minerals, Stones, Gems and Rosins: with the vertues and use thereof, By D. B. Gent. (a single line) LONDON: Printed By Elizabeth Alsop. and are to be sold at her house in Grubstreet, near the Upper Pump. 1653. All enclosed within thick ornate border.
Small quatro. 194 x 153 x 24mm. 3 feps with the small stamp of the Assay Office Library Birmingham. The Title page. 2p A dedication to the Honourable, Boulstroad Whitlock. 4p of The Table. 1-232. 3fep. Some illustrations in text. Title page aged with repairs, with repairs on the verso not effecting text. The next 3 leaves aged. Overall lightly age-browned but clear. Some good repairs has brought the book back to a desirable copy. Bound in quarter brown calf with a darker spine. With raised bands and gilt writing in 3 compartments. The boards covered in strong brown cloth with the tips in calf. Revised edition, expanded from its first appearance in 1594 under the same title, the second overall.
- Hugh Plat was born in the spring of 1552, and baptised at St. James's, Garlickhythe, on 3 May 1552. He was the third son and eldest surviving of Richard Plat or Platt (1528-1600), a London brewer who ran the Old Swan brewery in James Street, London. His father owned property in St Pancras, London, bequeathing much of it to the foundation and endowment of a free school and six alms-houses at Aldenham, Hertfordshire. He was buried on 28 November 1600. Hugh's mother, Alice, was daughter of John Birtles, of Birtles, Cheshire. Plat matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge, on 12 November 1568 and he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1572. Soon afterwards he became a member of Lincoln's Inn. He resided from 1594 at Bishop's Hall, Bethnal Green, later moving to the neighbouring Kirby's Castle. Both at Bethnal Green and in St Martin's Lane. he maintained gardens, where he conducted horticultural and agricultural experiments. For research, he often visited Sir Thomas Heneage's estate at Copt Hall, Essex, and other large properties. He learned metallurgy from blacksmiths, and worked with gardeners and farmers to gather information on horticulture and agriculture and foodstuffs. In consideration of his services as inventor, Plat was knighted by James I at Greenwich on 22 May 1605. In 1594 there appeared the first edition of 'The Jewell House of Art and Nature, dedicated to Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. The volume consists of five tracts with separate title-pages, 1. Divers new Experiments. 2. 'Diverse new Sorts of Soyle not yet brought into any Publique Use. 3. 'Chimical Conclusions concerning the Art of Distillation. 4. 'Of Moulding, Casting Metals. 5.'An offer of certain New Inventions which the Author proposes to Disclose upon reasonable Considerations. This second revised and enlarged edition appeared in 1613, dedicated to Bulstrode Whitelocke, and prepared by 'D. B.' (i.e. Arnold de Boate), who added a sixth tract 'A Discourse on Minerals, Stones, Gums, and Rosins. The Royal Collection Trust has a 1653 copy acquired by Queen Victoria sometime before 1860. The way this text has been printed and published matches Plat's eclectic curiosity and research. Some of the solutions to problems astonish: we are informed on P 19, Turn 5 spits at once with one hand. Then on P 28, How to hold a hot iron bar in your hands without burning. On the next page 29, Sweet cakes made without sugar. Further on P 71, How to keep Oysters good 10-12 days. (without refrigeration. Did this solution create food poisoning in the ignorant.?) Then the same kind of query on P 72, How to keep Lobsters crayfish etc good for some days. Then the fantastical; on P 88, A wagon with illustration. To be drawn by men instead of horses. - Intended to appeal to an audience as diverse as its contents, the book contains advice useful to travellers, farmers, housewives, soldiers, cooks, merchants, apothecaries, builders, distillers, and brewers, or indeed anyone who had “either wit, or will, to apply them.” An interesting book that (ODNB) elevates to Platt's most significant work. It shows to a great extent the need for people to constantly improve their knowledge and circumstance. Making the leap from Plat's time to the present, one wonders if human's will ever find their true comfort-zone, or are we tied to a quest to always follow Plat's example of on-going restless research. ESTC R10675; Goldsmiths' 1294; Kress 889; Wing P2391.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11259

Tryon. Thomas - Rare. Tryon's appendix to
The Good Houswife made a Doctor,
Or, Health's choice and sure friend: Being a Plain Way of Nature's own prescribing, to Prevent & Cure Most Diseases to Men, Women and Children, by Diet and Kitchen Physick only, being an Appendix to the Book entitled , The Way to Health, & or, a further demonstration of Philosophy therein contained. With some Remarks on the Practice of Physick and Chymistry. By Philotheos Physiologue, The Author of The Way to Health, Long Life and Happiness. The Country-Man's Companion etc. London, Printed and Sold by Andrew Sowle, in Holloway-Lane, near Shoreditch.
FIRST EDITION. Circa 1688. Title page. 6pp Preface. 4pp Contents. 1-232. 6pp Advertisements. Pages evenly light browned with age throughout with some small staining occasionally. Page corners rounded. Full dark brown modern calf with blind tooling to boards and spine with brown label and gilt lettering. New end papers.
- Although Tryon did not put his name nor date on this book it is easy to place it due to the declaration on the title page -- 'being an Appendix to the Book entitled , The Way to Health, & or, a further demonstration of Philosophy therein contained----'. The 1st edition of The Way to Health is 1683. Oxford states 'n/d' for the 1st edition of The Good Houswife, with a 2nd of 1692 on which Tryon's name first appears. Assuming Tryon took five years to write this supplement, we can place it's date at circa 1688. Tryon was a prolific writer of books on food and diet and also advocated vegetarianism. Oxford lists a total of 10 various titles under Tryon. Both books mentioned here are very rare items.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 10945

La Chapelle. Vincent - Published first in English then French.
The Modern Cook:
CONTAINING INSTRUCTIONS For Preparing and Odering Publick Enter-tainments for the Tables of Princes, Am-bassadors, Noblemen, and Magistrates. As also the least Expensive Methods of providing for private Families, in a very elegant Manner. New Receipts for Dressing of Meat, Fowl, and Fish, and making Ragouts, Fricassees, and Pastry of all Sorts, in a Method never before Publish'd. Adorn'd with COPPER PLATES, Exhibiting the Order of Placing the different Dishes, etc. on the Table, in the most polite Way. By Mr. VINCENT LA CHAPELLE, Late Cheif Cook to his Highness the Prince of ORANGE. The Third Edition. LONDON: Printed for Thomas Osborne, in Gray's-Inn. MDCCXLIV.
Third edition. Complete. 2feps. Title page. Dedication on verso. p 1-IV. p IX-XL. The Contents. 1-432. Illustrations. 6 letterpress folding plates of bills of fare and elaborate table settings. 2feps. A nice contemporary full dark brown calf binding with raised bands on the spine. A red and green label with gilt lettering. Gilt lines on the spine and boards. Internally very clean throughout. A beautiful copy, with one of the folding plates measuring an unusual eighteen inches long.
- Vincent La Chapelle, French Master cook to Phillip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, then William IV, Prince of Orange, after to Madame de Pompadour the mistress of Louis XV. When Chesterfield was sent to the Hague as Ambassador to arrange the marriage of William of Orange to Anne, daughter of George 11, he took La Chapelle with him. After Chesterfield returned to London, La Chapelle stayed behind and entered the service of William of Orange, to whom his books are dedicated. (Mossiman pub. Collection). Cagle has a 3rd edition of 3 volumes, dated 1736, with 16 folding plates.-- Maclean also has third editions of 1736 and 1744, both 3 volumes, a 4th edition of 1751 in 1 volume, but annoyingly, no mention of plates. -- Bitting has the 1st edition of 1733 in 3 volumes with 16 folding plates. She also has the 4th of 1751 with 6 folding plates. -- Oxford gives the 1st of 1733 in 2 volumes, the 2nd in 3 volumes and the 3rd of 1744 and a 4th of 1751, both 1 volume only, with no plates noted - urgh!. Oxford states: "This seems a most excellent and well arranged book, though some of the recipes are very strange. A 'strengthening broth' is made of two hundred sparrows with other ingredients. For besieged towns the author gives a recipe for 'broth cakes' which may be carried about, and 'preserv'd above a year'. The broth cakes are obviously a precursor to the modern day stock cubes. Vincent La Chapelle is now known to have been a little creative with the truth regarding his employment record and other issues. Maclean on p85. raises these points and also mentions Philip and Mary Hyman's very good article in Petits Propos Culinaires vol 2, pp 44-45, highlighting La Chapelle's famous spat with Massialot. Whatever claims of plagiarism between these two famous Chefs, this is nevertheless a great cookbook. Uniquely, La Chapelle published this work first in English in 1733 and then brought out the first French edition (Le Cuisinier Moderne) in 4 volumes in 1735. A 2nd French edition followed in 1742 with a new volume added. All complete copies or sets of La Chapelle's cookery books are extremely scarce.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 10982