Liebig Company's.       - A beautiful copy of a scarce booklet.
Practical Cookery Book.
A collection of new and useful recipes in every branch of cookery. Compiled by Mrs H.M. Young. LONDON Leibig's Extract of Meat Company, Limited. 9 FENCHURCH AVENUE, E.C. 1893 (All rights reserved). PRINTED IN GERMANY.
FIRST EDITION. 172 X 113MM. 2p Highly decorated inside front cover and Title page. Verso has an intriguing etching of the Liebig Factory, Frey Bentos, Uruguay. 1-111 Index. iv Advertisement page. v-vii Introduction. viii Preface. 1p Recipes. [1] 1-104. Highly decorated inside back cover. Beautifully decorated and colourful boards sometime expertly relaid. Spine is relaid crimson cloth. Inside very clean with slight foxing on the title page. The guttering has been strenghtened with a light foxing not affecting the text. Overall a very good complete copy of a very scarce company booklet that is rarely found in such good condition.
- The Liebig Extract of Meat Company (Lemco) was the originator of Liebig and Oxo meat extracts and later, Oxo beef stock cubes. Baron Justin von Liebig invented a way to preserve the flavour of meat in the form of an extract. In the 1860's the Baron, known as a very active organic chemist was invited to be a shareholder in a Uruguayan firm to produce a meat extract and transport the liquid in tons to Europe. (with no debris of skin, bones nor meat) The promising lucrative plan appealed to the Baron so the company was established in December 4th 1865 in London. The factory was based at Fray Bentos at Villa Independencia, on the river Uruguay, where fresh air and an unlimited supply of water were an indispensable necessity for the slaughter of 1,500 four year old oxen daily during the seven months of the slaughter season. The company employed about 1000 hands, and with wives and children supported a community of around 3000.

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Antiquarian category
ref number: 11063

Liebig Company's.       - A nice copy of a beautifully designed booklet.
Practical Cookery Book.
A collection of new and useful recipes in every branch of cookery. Compiled by Mrs H.M. Young. LONDON Leibig's Extract of Meat Company, Limited. 9 FENCHURCH AVENUE, E.C. 1893 (All rights reserved). PRINTED IN GERMANY.
FIRST EDITION. 172 X 113MM. 2p Highly decorated inside front cover and Title page. Verso has an intriguing etching of the Liebig Factory, Frey Bentos, Uruguay. 1-111 Index. iv Advertisement page. v-vii Introduction. viii Preface. 1p Recipes. [1] 1-104. Highly decorated inside back cover. Beautifully decorated and colourful boards sometime expertly relaid. The guttering has a little rust form the staples not affecting the look or text. Overall a very nice complete copy of a very scarce company booklet that is not usually found in such good condition.
- The Liebig Extract of Meat Company (Lemco) was the originator of Liebig and Oxo meat extracts and later Oxo beef stock cubes. Baron Justin von Liebig invented a way to preserve the flavour of meat in the form of an extract. In the 1860's the Baron was known as a very active organic chemist and was invited to be a shareholder in a Uruguayan firm to produce a meat extract and transport the liquid in tons to Europe. (with no weight of skin, bones nor meat) The idea appealed to the Baron and promised to be very lucrative, so the company was established in December 4th 1865 in London. The factory was based at Fray Bentos at Villa Independencia, on the river Uruguay, (see image #2 below) where fresh air and an unlimited supply of water were an indispensable necessity for the slaughter of 1,500 four year old oxen daily during the seven months of the slaughter season. The company employed about 1000 hands, and with wives and children supported a community of 3000. The meat extract was a molasses-like black spread packaged in an opaque white glass bottle, and contained only reduced meat stock and salt (4%). It took 3 kg of meat to make 100 g of extract. By 1875, 500 tonnes of the extract were being produced at the Fray Bentos plant each year. The manufacture of the meat extract was done under the strict control of a company chemist. It was then shipped to Antwerp. On arrival in Europe it was again inspected and samples of each consignment were tested for composition and flavour. In the booklet the public are cautioned against various imitations. In 1873, Liebig's began producing tinned corned beef, sold under the label Fray Bentos. Later, freezer units were installed, enabling the company to also export frozen and chilled raw meat. A cheaper version of Liebig extract was introduced under the name Oxo in 1899. Later, the Oxo bouillon cube was introduced. In the 1920s, the company acquired the Oxo Tower Wharf on the south bank of the river Thames in London. There they erected a factory, demolishing most of the original building, preserving and building upon the riverside frontage. The Liebig Extract of Meat Company was acquired by the Vestey Group in 1924 and the factory was renamed El Anglo. Liebig merged with Brooke Bond in 1968, which was in turn acquired by Unilever in 1984. Liebig produced many illustrated advertising products: table cards, menu-cards, children games, free trade card sets, calendars, posters, poster-stamps, paper and other ephemera. These were often in the form of trading card sets with stories, historical tidbits, geographic tidbits, and so on. The sets usually consisted of six cards, one card included per product sale. Many famous artists were contracted to design those series of cards, which were first produced using true lithography, then litho chromo, chromolithography and finally offset printing. The cards remain popular with collectors and are often collected in albums. Copies of Liebig's recipe booklet are also much sought after. Due to the fact that they did not survive well in the oily and robust kitchen environment, lovely clean copies such as this one are quite rare.

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Antiquarian category
ref number: 11147

Senn   C. Herman     - The best edition.
Practical Gastronomy
AND CULINARY DICTIONARY WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED 'RECHERCHE COOKERY" UP-TO-DATE DESCRIPTIONS of the FOLLOWING BRANCHES -- HORS-D'OEUVRES, SOUPS, DRESSED FISH, ENTREES, REMOVES, SAUCES, ROASTS, SECOND COURSE DISHES, VEGETABLES, SALADS, SWEETS, AND SAVOURIES. Sketches and Quotations of Culinary Literature. A COMPLETE MENU COMPILER AND REGISTER OF MOST KNOWN DISHES IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH. WITH PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE SAME. THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED BY CHARLES HERMAN SENN. INSPECTING AND CONSULTING CHEF DU CUISINE, NATIONAL TRAINING SCHOOL OF COOKERY, DISTINGUISHED WITH THE GRAND DECORATION OF "LE CORDON ROUGE" GOLD MEDALLIST AND MEMBER OF THE ACADEMIE DE CUISINE, PARIS. Published by SPOTTISWOODE & CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE, LONDON. [1895]
Very thick 8vo. 17.5 X 11.5cm. Black paste-downs and end-papers. 1fep. Half Title with illustration on verso of 'Cornet of Nougat' [1] Frontispiece printed in brown. Title page with top illustration of 4 fairies working in a kitchen. (The punctuation on the title page is inconsistent: a single quotation-mark precedes, and double marks follow 'Recherche Cookery') [1] 3-6 Preface. 7-10 Contents. 11-916. 917-926 Index. 1-9 Advertisements. 9 plates printed in brown. Many in text illustrations. Modern half black calf with marbled boards and calf corners. Raised bands with beautiful gilt lines, dots and dentelles. With two calf labels, red and green with gilt writing. A pristine copy with very slight foxing on the half title and back of frontispiece.
- Charles Herman Senn, born in Lirstal, Switzerland,1864, died at his desk at 110 Victoria Street, London on 18th October 1934. He was a prolific writer of cookery books. Driver lists thirty two separate titles with one hundred and forty three various editions. Driver states; "Considering Senn's stature in the culinary world and his remarkable output of cookery books, it is odd that there is no authoritative biography or evaluation of the man and his work. The richest source of information is LCoF which owns Senn's library. Most significant in the collection are Senn's working copies of his own books marked up with changes for subsequent editions. Also in the collection are review copies signed by their authors and sent to Senn for his comments, which as a group present a picture of the cookery-book publishing world of the time with an immediacy not found in the copyright libraries." This third edition of Senn's 'Practical Gastronomy' is considered the best and the scarcest and the most appreciated by collectors and chefs. This edition had the chapter 'Recherche cookery' added. This increased the book to 806 numbered recipes, in turn creating a very thick tome and a fascinating read.

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Antiquarian category
ref number: 11011

Dods.      
RE-USE


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Modern category
ref number: 11044

Soyer.   Alexis Benoit     Incorporating all of Soyer's new ideas.
Reform Club's new kitchen plans.
An article from the fourth annual volume of 'The Builder' magazine of 1846. With Illustrations and full specifications for all aspects and equipment of the new Kitchen at Reform Club, Pall Mall, London.
1846. 330 x 212. 4 sheets of a 5p article (one double sided). 340-344. 3 pages printed from the 'The Builder' magazine archive. First and second pages 340/1,is the full spec. for the arrangement of the kitchen and equipment. Second page 342, is drawings of individual large pieces of equipment and a full open plan of the whole kitchen. Page 343, a full overhead drawing of the kitchen, plus five main pieces of kitchen equipment. Page 344, the last page of Soyer's description of the key elements of the whole Kitchen, plus a list of reference points based on the Architect Mr Barry's drawing of the kitchen as specified by Soyer. Housed in a decorated hand-made cardboard folder with a label.
- The Reform club was completely refurbished and opened its doors on 24th May 1836 at Dysart House 104 Pall Mall. Special attention was paid to the kitchens, which were designed to the specifications of the brilliant and charismatic chef Alexis Soyer who had been hired in 1837. The restaurant, traditionally known as the 'Coffee Room' runs the entire length of the building overlooking the garden at the back. The gallery is reached by a remarkable tunnel-vaulted staircase, again inspired by Italian models. The Library, the Smoking Room and the Card Room lead off the Gallery. 'The Builder' is one of the United Kingdom’s oldest business-to-business magazines, launched in 1843 by Joseph Aloysius Hansom – architect of Birmingham Town Hall and designer of the Hansom Cab. The journal was renamed 'Building' in 1966 as it is still known today. 'Building' is the only UK title to cover the entire building industry. Even tho this is only 2 original pages of 5 with the other 3 printed straight from the 'The Builder' online archive, it is still a very rare and informative article about Soyer's famous kitchen that even had a visit from Royalty. Soyer the supreme self-publicist wasted no time promoting it. Many of his ideas and inventions in the new kitchen were ground-breaking, typical of his lifelong eclectic drive and energy.

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11263

Anon.       - The great Diet & Health treatise in verse.
Regimen Sanitatis Salerni:
OR THE SCHOOLE OF SALERNES REGEMENT of HEALTH. Containing, Most Learned and judicious Directions and Instructi-ons, for Preservation, Guide, and Government of MANS LIFE. Dedicated, Unto the late High and Mighty King of England, from that University, and published (by consent of learned Physicians) for a generall good. Reviewed, corrected, and enlarged with a Commentary for the more plain and easie understanding thereof. [two lines] By P.H. Dr, in Physicke, deceased. [one line] Whereunto is annexed, A necessary Discourse of all sorts of Fish, in use among us, with their effects appertaining to the Health of Man. As Also, Now, and never before, is added certain precious and approved Ex-periments for Health, by a Right Honourable, and Noble Personage. [one line] London, printed by B. Alsop, dwelling in Grub-Street near the Upper-Pump, 1649.
183 x 142 mm. 1fep. Title page surrounded by a thick floral border. [1] 2p Epistle Dedicatory. (x)2-206 with occasional marginalia in a fine script. 10p The Table. 207-220 Excellent and approved Receipts, 3p The Table of additional Receipts. [1] 1 fep. The whole text block uniformly browned through out. Pages 14-46 with excellent repairs not affecting the text. Original full dark brown calf with blind tooled lines on the spine and a small dark red calf label with gilt lettering. Inside and out this copy looks its age but not objectionable. A desirable copy in the original state.
- The Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum (from Latin: Salerno Rule of Health) is a medieval didactic poem in hexameter verse written as part of the Medical School of Salerno in the XII - XIII century. Although it is commonly dated around that time, some sources argue that it dates back to 1050. The work, probably dedicated to Robert II Duke of Normandy and pretender to the English throne who was in Salerno in 1099 returning from the First Crusade. The text shows signs of the ‘School of Salerno’ for everything about hygiene, food, diet, herbs and their therapeutic properties. The author is unknown, although some attribute it to a certain Giovanni Da Milano (John of Milan), perhaps a disciple of Constantine the African; the text, however, has undergone several contributions over the centuries. It was also translated into almost all European languages, and reached nearly 40 editions before 1501, many of which were added to, or material taken away from the original version. The first English translation was made by Sir John Harington in 1608 . The first printing, containing 364 verses in Latin, was published in 1480, and annotated and edited by Arnold of Villanova; the book was enormously popular and was held in high regard as a textbook for teaching and the dissemination of medicine. It was used for that purpose until the nineteenth century, when an attempt to make a medically accurate translation was made in 1871 by the American doctor John Ordronaux. The Regimen was very popular because the rhyming verses were easy to remember. It was organized by the six ‘non-naturals’. According to Galen, they are: air, food and drink, sleeping and waking, motion and rest, excretions and retentions, and number six, dreams and the passions of the soul. The original content addressed the humors, the complexions (temperaments), and some diseases. It also contains text on phlebotomy, providing information on bloodletting. An interesting read of a far-reaching text and medieval medical classic that can also lie easily along side early cookery classics and treatises. It was not until the late 18th century that medicinal receipts, usually found at the back of most printed cookery books was fazed out.

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Antiquarian category
ref number: 11224

Andrews.   Coleman     - Signed by the author.
Reinventing food
Ferran Adria: THE MAN WHO CHANGED THE WAY WE EAT. by COLMAN ANDREWS (with small phaidon symbol at the bottom of the page).
FIRST EDITION 2010. 240x160 mm. 1fep. Half-title. On verso, photograph of Adria. Title page with Coleman Andrews signature. Verso with symbols in b/w for elBulli foodstuffs. 1p Contents, [1] 7-10 Author's note. 11-22 Introduction. 2p Photographs of Adrian and elBulli. 25-340. b/w photograph of a young Adria. 342-346 Bibliography. 347-350 Acknowledgments. 351-359 Index. [1] 1fep. Grey hardcover with black & red text on front, back and spine. As new inside and out.
- There are some things that are disagreeable as well as interesting about this book. The disconcerting title for one thing. Adria has not changed the way we eat. The guests at his reatuarant 'elBulli' (now closed since 2012) all ate food the same way as everyone else, even in a McDonalds. That is with fingers or a container, a plate, spoon, glass or bowl etc etc. What you can definitely say is that Adria has changed what we eat. The absoluteness of Andrew's title also conveys a sense of Adria's already, far-reaching influence. The chefs who trained with him and who have spread his gastronomic ways are just beginning to make names for themselves in their own right, and Adria's influence is still only growing. The influences of great Cooks and their cookery books, such as Bartolomeo Scappi, Careme, Irma Rombeaur, Escoffier, Elizabeth David and Fernand Point are much more fundamental. What can be agreed is that Ferran Adria's cuisine is a very big gastronomic change from that of the preceding time. Along with food de-constructors and authors like Blumenthal, Redzepi etc, whose changes and innovations are also being recorded in print, we see reactions, positive or negative being expressed with vigour. It does not seem that ambivalence is an option. As always, time will tell whether Adria's cuisine is epoch changing. He will always have critics because a large part of the population are not gastronomically educated, nor have the cash nor luck with a dinner booking to try the more progressive places like 'elBulli' in Spain, or Blumenthal's 'Fat Duck' in UK and Redzepi's 'Noma' in Copenhagen, in which those Chefs are very serious about what they are attempting and offering. There will always be a broad majority of people with good and educated palates who will want the very fresh prawns with a touch of salt of the restaurant 'Inopia' written about in Andrew's introduction. They are what you may call the 'naturists' - who want their fresh food from air, sea and land to the table as quickly as possible with a minimum of fuss in the preparation, cooking and serving, while at the same time tasting exquisite. This is a prime sentiment of Adria's as well; it is no coincidence that his 'elBulli' experimental kitchen and workshop is just across the Ramblas from the great Barcelona market, La Boqueria. There is much about Adria that is likeable, not least in this age of Chef's egos, his unassuming manner, but one thing that persists when assessing him, is his penchant for self-promotion and his ability to market his cuisine, all in a manner reminiscent of Alexis Soyer. Because of this we can be sure Ferran Adria will never be forgotten and one thinks that his influence will grow and be extensive, possibly coming close to matching Andrew Coleman's premature assessment. We can only eat, wait and see.

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Modern category
ref number: 11173

House of Commons.       - House of Commons and 10 Downing St menus .
Report on the Kitchen and Refreshment Rooms. April 24th 1863.
REPORT FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE KITCHEN AND REFRESHMENT ROOMS (HOUSE OF COMMONS); WITH THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE, AND AN APPENDIX. Ordered by The House of Commons, to be printed, 24 April 1863.
320x200mm. Title page. p2 Committee names. 3-7 Report with a large folding plate of a lovely unusual coloured drawing on the various proposed changes for the New Palace of Westminster refreshment rooms. 8-14 Proceedings of the Select Committee. p13 is miss-bound after p14. [1] Last page is a small copy of the title page. It has 2 menus enclosed. The first one is a one page white cardboard Luncheon menu from the House of Commons members dining room on 14th July 1960. The second menu is for a dinner at 10 Downing Street for the President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat and his wife on 7th November 1975. Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister at the time. The report is bound by a thread. All items are very clean and in good condition.
- The report consists of a full review of the current (1860's) operational inefficiencies for dining in the House of Commons during the House sessions. Based on members complaints the report also reviews dinner numbers, wage comparisons and wine suppliers. Page 14 is a comparison of current prices at London clubs including The Reform Club, which covers the time of the tenure of the famous chef, Charles Elme Francatelli, who had taken up the position of Chef de Cuisine after the equally famous chef, Alexis Soyer, resigned from the Club in 1850. With the menus, this is a very interesting look at the Catering department and dining setup at the Commons and the Prime Minister's official residence.

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11139

Nignon.   Edouard     - Rare Nignon menu 1913.
Restaurant Larue - Paris.
Nignon's Menu July 9th 1913.
310 x 200 mm. 2 leaves, 4 pages. Very colourful front cover with an elegantly dressed lady and man entering the restaurant with the Maitre d' in attendance. The inside 2 pages: the first one blank and the second with a very comprehensive a'la Carte menu. The back cover ornate printer's device with E.Nignon's initials. On the third page a light smudge not affecting the menu text. Overall a unique item housed in a handsome marbled folder.
- - This extensive a' la Carte menu from the Restaurant Larue, surprises with its elegance, but most of all because it is laid out very similarly to the menus of Claridges Hotel in London. Nignon was the Chef du Cuisine there from 1894 - 1901. One wonders if the format was started by him then. When I was the Chef Poissonier there in the 1980's, it still had the same a' la Carte menu format. Edouard Nignon (1865-1934), widely regarded within the industry as one of the greatest French chefs. During his career, he cooked at the Cafe Anglais, the Paillard, L'Ermitage in Moscow and directed a brigade of 120 chefs at the Moscow Metropole Hotel. He was at different times according to the Larousse Gastronomique, head chef to the Tsar, the Emperor of Austria, and President Woodrow Wilson. Finally finishing his career at his own "Restaurant Larue'. Situated at the corner of Rue Royale and Place de la Madeleine, and opened by Nignon in 1908. Recognized by the members of the French Academy and other Chefs as one of the fathers of modern French cuisine. Michel Guérard, himself one of the founders of nouvelle cuisine, described Nignon as a visionary chef who had a huge influence on French cooks such as himself and Joël Robuchon. Nignon remains to this day relatively unknown to the general public. He received in his dining room "Tout Paris".(meaning 'Everyone in Paris', a French expression referring to the fashionable and affluent elite of the city, who frequent fashionable events and places, and establish trends in upper-class culture). He was a star in monarchist, bonapartist, nationalist and aristocratic circles. In 1922 aged 57 years old, Nignon was hospitalized to undergo the removal of a kidney and health problems dogged him till his death. His nephew Célestin Duplat, also married to a niece of Madame Nignon, directed the kitchens as Head of Cuisiniers. Nignon said about him "He was at my side in Moscow and other important houses so that I can testify to his professional knowledge. With Célestin at the helm, the establishment is in good hands". In 1933, one year before Nignon dies. his beloved Larue is finally honored with three Michelin stars and will keep them until the war. After the second world war, the restaurant is not able to revive its pre-war grandeur. Larue and its famous wine cave were sold. (Image #2 below), shows the restaurant Larue near Place de la Madeleine, closed before being sold, in Paris in 1954. In the NY Times archive, an article by Jane Nickerson describing the closing of Larue in 1954, in particular the auction in May 11th, of its famous wine cellar. The briskest bidding was for the cognacs bearing the Larue name. A Fine Champagne Cognac of 1795 was sold for $46.oo. ($445.oo in 2021). Two famous brandies were the 1858 Cognac Maison Larue and the 1845 Armagnac Restaurant Larue (see image #6 below). An elderly woman who refused to be identified bought 542 bottles of red burgundy. They included Clos de Vouget 1923, Vosne Romanee 1945, and an estate-bottled Corton 1947. This was the final chapter in the life a great chef and his famous restaurant.

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Ephemera category
ref number: 10934

Escoffier.   Georges Auguste     - Two Escoffier menus.
Ritz Carlton Restaurants on board the Hamburg Amerika Line ships.
A Lunch and Dinner menu from the S.S. Amerika passenger liner, March 1908.
Menu 1. Dinner dated March 14th 1908 - 177x117 mm. A folded card with a very good drawing of the SS Amerika on the front cover. Inside a 12 course dinner in English and German with French and a few US dishes. On the back cover is the music programme with a lovely drawing of a violinist. Clean and handsome. Menu 2. Lunch dated March 12th 1908 - 130x90 mm. . A folded card with a header titled ‘A Suggestion' on the front cover. Inside a plain 6 course lunch in English and German. On the back cover are a couple of glue strips that suggest this menu was pasted into a folder at some time. All text and menu borders in gilt. The guttering has been strengthened but still a clean and handsome item. Overall in very good condition and housed in a handsome cardboard folder covered in grey marbled paper with a label on the front cover. A rare item of Escoffier ephemera.
- The Hamburg Amerika Liner company requested Auguste Escoffier and Cesar Ritz’s services for the planning and inauguration of the Kitchens and Restaurants on the brand new liners "S.S. Amerika" and the 'S.S. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria. Both of these ships were built side by side at the Harland Wolff shipyards in Belfast. 'Amerika' was launched first on April 20th 1905, According to the Morton Allan Directory of European Passenger Steamship Arrivals (Baltimore: 1987), the “S.S. Amerika" sailed between Hamburg and New York from 1905-1913. For the year 1914 it sailed between Hamburg and Boston; the Amerika's last U.S. arrivals were to Boston on 19 June and 24 July 1914. In 1912, it was the first ship to warn Titanic of icebergs. The kitchens and dining rooms of the liners S.S. Amerika and S.S. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria opened with the very original a la carte restaurants. The service on board all of those liners was called the “The Ritz Carlton Restaurants”. There had never been an a’la Cartre restaurant of any kind on a ship before. Adding the names of Escoffier and Ritz to this novel enterprise and the interest, support and demand completely filled the dining rooms every day. The new restaurants became stunning successes. They even had to significantly expand the kitchen of the 'S.S. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria' after the first voyage. Escoffier’s secondment from the Carlton Hotel to the Hamburg Amerika line was to last until 1915 and would further help to cement his reputation as the gastronomic Master craftsman of the age.

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Information

Ephemera category
ref number: 11214