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

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11292

KIRKLAND. JOHN - A fantastic and monumental 4 volume set.
THE MODERN BAKER CONFECTIONER AND CATERER.
by JOHN KIRKLAND Lecturer and Teacher of Bread-making. With Contributions from Specialists & Trade Experts. NEW AND REVISED EDITION VOLUMES 1 - 1V. THE GRESHAM PUBLISHING COMPANY LTD. 66 CHANDOS STREET. COVENT GARDEN, LONDON. 1927.
Tall 8vo. 254 x 184 mm. VOL1. 1fep. Half-title. [1] Colour frontis of cake designs. Title page with tissue guard. [1] (1)vi Preface to new ed. vii - xiv Contents. xv - xvi List of Plates. 1-246. 2fep. VOL11. 1fep. Half-title. [1] Colour frontis of cake designs. Title page with tissue guard. [1] (1)v - xiv Contents. xv - xvi List of Plates. 1-278. 2fep. VOL111. 1fep. Half-title. [1] Colour frontis of cake designs. Title page with tissue guard. [1] (1)v - xiv Contents. xii - xiv List of Plates. 1-269. [1] 2fep. VOL1V. 1fep. Half-title. [1] Colour frontis of cake designs. Title page with tissue guard. [1] (1)v- xiii Contents. ix - x List of Plates. 1-238. 239 - 250 Index. 2fep. All four volumes have a whopping total of 102 illustrations, many full page, and 27 colour plates of which 4 are frontispieces for each book. Bound in original blind-stamped gilt lettered maroon cloth. Internally all text-blocks very clean. Fine condition.
- The Modern Baker, Confectioner and Caterer: A fantastic practical work for the baking and allied trades. It also has a huge amount of scientific information that is the fundamental start to any recipe or endeavour within this trade. It is much more important than the other areas of the kitchen outside of the Patisserie and Bakery. Exhaustive work on the business and skills of the trade, from setting up your shop workspace to selecting tools, pots and pans to individual recipes. John Kirkland in his preface to this new edition informs us that the first edition of 1907 comprising six volumes was sold out and was still hugely in demand. Another four editions were printed after this one. This fine set has not really been bettered for it's huge varied scope, and is a monument to a great professional, teacher and author.

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Modern category

ref number: 11284

Murray. Ross - rare recipes for Swan.
THE MODERN HOUSEHOLDER:
A MANUAL OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY IN ALL ITS BRANCHES. COMPILED AND EDITED BY A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS. With original Illustrations Printed in Colours by Tronheim. AND NUMEROUS WOODCUTS. (A round printer’s device for Warne and Co.) LONDON: FREDERICK WARNE AND CO. BEDFORD STREET, COVENT GARDEN. NEW YORK: SCRIBNER, WELFORD, AND ARMSTRONG.
FIRST AND SOLE EDITION - 1st ISSUE. Thick 8vo. 194 x 135 mm. 1fep. [1] Frontispiece of Potatoes. 1 tissue-guard. Title page. [1] (1)vi Preface. (1)viii Contents. (1)x List of Coloured Plates. (1)x List of Woodcuts. (1)2-689. (1)691-722 Index. 2p Advertisements. 1fep. 19 Coloured plates. Many In-text woodcut Illustrations. Very clean internally. Modern ¼ leather binding with marbled boards. Flat spine with gilt lines and text. In very good condition.
- Interestingly, there are 2 exact same copies of this book except for the frontispieces. They are different in both copies. One has as a frontis of the colour plate that faces page 54, featuring various flower ornamentations. This copy has the frontispiece, illustrating the various types of potatoes. This was published first, and one suspects, that because the publishers did not issue a large print run, and due to higher demand, they inserted the other forntis for the second issue. The book format is similar to Beeton’s great household management book, especially with the fine colour plates and in-text b/w woodcut illustrations. In many ways it also as interesting as Beeton’s but quite different in content. An example is Ross Murray’s recipes on pages 338/9 for roasting and making gravy from Swan. As can be seen online, there are many articles on the cooking of Swans, with some of the information edited and reproduced here: Due to the law since the 12th century, all swans at liberty on open waters belong to the Crown by prerogative right, and are the property of the Crown. Mute swans (the common Eurasian swan we see in UK, having the familiar white plumage and an orange-red bill with a black knob at the base) also have statutory protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. By 1378 the office of 'Keeper of the King's Swans' was in existence and a document exists, entitled, "The Lawes, Orders and Customs for Swans", dating to 1482/3. From a gastronomic viewpoint, mature swans have little subcutaneous fat and their flesh is exceedingly dry, making them a tough and entirely unsuitable subject for barbecuing. This is what Ross Murray writes; “The cygnets when all hatched are of a slate-grey, which grows lighter as they grow older. The cygnets of the wild swan are white. But it is of the grey cygnets we have to speak. They are hatched in June. If they are intended for the kitchen, they are put into a separate swan pond at the end of August or the first week in September. After they have been "hopped or upped", as it is called, from their native place, grass is thrown to them twice a day with their other food for a fortnight. They are fattened on barley: a coomb (4 bushels) for each cygnet suffices for the fattening. Cygnets can only be fattened before the white feathers appear; after that no further feeding will do any good. As soon as a white feather shows they will cease fattening, no matter what food they have. They can consequently only be eaten in December, and they are a capital and magnificent Christmas dish. Their weight then will be from 25 lbs to 28 lbs.” They were slaughtered the moment their white adult plumage appeared, which pretty well coincided with Christmas. They were seven months old and very obese. Murray goes on to tell us that swan was a popular local dish in Norfolk and explains how they were roasted in homes in that county on a spit in front of the fire as a Christmas dish. He explains that the finished swan was garnished with four little swans carved out of turnips and 'a paper frill, nicely cut, about the shoulders. Other famous Chefs have recipes for swan in their cookery books. Published by the 17th century master cook Robert May, in his famous tome entitled; ‘The Accomplisht Cook’, (item # 10965 on this site) he gives recipes for 'A Swan roast' and 'A Swan Pye'. Nearly a hundred years after May published the bill of fare above, another Christmas dinner featuring a swan pie, this time as a centrepiece for the first course appeared in John Thacker's The Art of Cookery (Newcastle upon Tyne: 1758). Thacker was the cook to the Dean and Chapter at Durham Cathedral where there had been a swannery since well before the Reformation. Edward Kidder also published in his beautiful cookery book (see item # 10966 on this site), a small recipe for Swan Pye on page 6.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11243

Soyer. Alexis Benoit - The first edition in the original state.
The Modern Housewife
OR MENAGERE. COMPRISING NEARLY ONE THOUSAND RECEIPTS FOR THE ECONOMIC AND JUDICIOUS PREPARATION OF EVERY MEAL OF THE DAY, WITH THOSE OF THE NURSERY AND SICK ROOM, AND MINUTE DIRECTIONS FOR FAMILY MANAGEMENT IN ALL ITS BRANCHES. Illustrated With Engravings, INCLUDING THE MODERN HOUSEWIFE'S UNIQUE KITCHEN, AND MAGIC STOVE. BY ALEXIS SOYER, AUTHOR OF "THE GASTRONOMIC REGENERATOR," (REFORM CLUB). LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., STATIONERS' HALL COURT; OLLIVIER, PALL MALL. 1849.
FIRST EDITION. 8vo. 1fep. Frontispiece of Soyer. Title Page. [1] 1p Dedication to 'The fair daughters of Albion'. [1] (1)iv Contents. (1)vi-xii Introduction. 1-410. Opp. p393 Engraved picture of Soyers Magic Stove. Opp.396 Soyers Modern Housewife's Kitchen Apparatus. (1)412-426 Index. 427-430 Addenda. [1] Illustration of Soyers Sauce. 6p Advertisements for Soyer's products. 1fep. The text block is tight. Uniformly very lightly age browned through out. The little page a little sge darkened and the frontis with a little light foxing. Original light brown cloth covers and spine with the ornate blind tooling. The tooling on the spine has a little gilt and the blind tooling not as distinct as the covers. Rare in this good original condition.
- The blind tooled covers are typically Soyer. That is to say the tooling is designed on the bias and in Soyer's own words - a'la zoug zoug. He had this obsession with everything he designed or touched. His famously flamboyant rich colourful clothes were all cut on the bias - a'la zoug zoug, even his large bonnets worn at a rakish angle on the side of his head. Nothing came close to the dress conventions of the day. Altogether an unmistakable sight. This also reflected another strong aspect of his personality. That of self promotion. He obsessively wrote letters to the papers of the day explaining and aggrandising his endeavors, and was a prolific letter writer, maintaining relationships with many important personages he came into contact with, and in some way or another making sure it was publicly recorded in print. Despite this aspects of his personality he was a very bighearted man with a penchant for designing many good and important pieces of kitchen equipment. He had a very creative drive that had a sound pragmatic basis. This larger than life man died young but left a huge legacy that is still being examined and written about today.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11206

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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Modern category

ref number: 11178

MacDonald Duncan - The 1st edition - 2nd issue.
The New London Family Cook:
OR, TOWN AND COUNTRY HOUSEKEEPER’s GUIDE. COMPREHENDING DIRECTIONS FOR MARKETING. With illustrative Plates, on a principle entirely new; General Observations, and Bills of Fare for every Week in the Year; Practical Instructions for preparing SOUPS, BROTHS, GRAVIES, SAUCES, AND MADE DISHES; AND FOR DRESSING FISH, VENISON, HARES, BUTCHERS’ MEAT, POULTRY, GAME, &C. IN ALL THEIR VARIETIES. With the respective Branches of PASTRY AND CONFECTIONARY, THE ART OF POTTING, PICKLING, PRESERVING, &C. COOKERY FOR THE SICK, AND FOR THE POOR; Directions for Carving; And a Glossary of the most generally received French and English Terms in the Culinary Art. ALSO A COLLECTION OF VALUABLE FAMILY RECIPES, IN DYEING, PERFUMERY, &C. INSTRUCTIONS FOR BREWING, MAKING OF BRITISH WINES, DISTILLING, MANAGING THE DAIRY, AND GARDENING. AND AN APPENDIX, Containing General Directions for Servants relative to the Cleaning of Household Furniture, Floor-Cloths, Stoves, Marble Chimney-pieces, &c. Forming in the whole a most complete FAMILY INSTRUCTOR. [a small line] BY DUNCAN MACDONALD, LATE HEAD COOK AT THE BEDFORD TAVERN AND HOTEL, COVENT GARDEN, AND ASSITANTS. [two very fine double lines] London: PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY J.ROBINS AND CO. IVY LANE, PATERNOSTER ROW.
FIRST EDITION 2nd issue. Circa 1800. 12 mo. 1 fep. [1] Frontispiece of Macdonald’s portrait, ‘Published by J.Robins & Albion Press London’. Title page. [1] Preface 2 pages. (1)6 – 600. In-text 10 pages Plates of Carving and Butchery, Table settings and Bills of Fare, nine of the plates without an imprint, except one “Desserts” which is imprinted with ‘Engraved for Macdonald’s New London Cook’. 609-619 Tables of Marketing. 620-621 Conclusion. 622-630 Index. 2 pages Advertisements. 1fep. Frontispiece and the last for pages lightly damp browned. The text block is quite clean. With a modern binding of marbled boards with a quarter brown calf, raised bands, blind tooling with gilt text. Overall a good copy.
- The unusual information on the title page that informs us that the author is Duncan Macdonald the late Head Cook….. and also his assistants. What could this mean.? That Macdonald is dead and the book is written by, or collated by his assistants. Or does it mean Macdonald no longer works there and his ex-assistants took a part in the writing of the book after he had gone. Or did Macdonald write the book with the help of assistants. If this last is the case, and they were important enough to be included in the title page, then why not name them.? The mentioning of the “two servants” might be explained by the inclusion of the two page “Conclusion” on page 620 where it states that “The Proprietors of Macdonald’s New London Family Cook, cannot suffer the Volume to be closed, without remarking, that the promises, which they held forth in their promises for Publishing it, have been realised in their fullest extent”. It further states that “In addition to Mr Macdonald’s instructions for Cookery, in all its branches; for Marketing, and Carving: for Pastry, Confectionary, Potting, Pickling, and Preserving; they pledged themselves to furnish”….. etc etc etc. So, there we have it! All the other title page branches being added by the Proprietors. Using MacDonald’s name and his key chapters of Cookery etc, the Proprietors have put together a very comprehensive and interesting book. The effort has been thorough and sincere as can be seen by the inclusion of the well designed the frontispiece portrait of Macdonald. Quite how much of the material is original and how much is plagiarized would take some research. On page 197, there is a recipe for ‘The West-Indian Method of Dressing a Turtle’. When checked against an original handwritten publisher’s manuscript with the recipe "To dress a Turtle in the West India Way" inside a copy of the 4th edition of 1751 of Hannah Glasse’s famous work; “The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy”, see item # 10968 on page 16 of this website, the Macdonald recipe is identical in composition with every sentence cleverly re-arranged using the same words. In a recent conversation with Uta Schumacher Voelker she confirmed that the 1st Edition – 1st issue has the sentence in the title “An Alphabetical List of the most respectable Manufacturers and Dealers in the various Articles connected with Domestic Economy”. This copy does not have it, pointing towards a 2nd issue. MacLean informs of a second edition printed by John Cundee with the Preface dated 1808. Cagle cites only one J.Robin’s edition in the Library of Congress, but we are not told if it’s a 1st or 2nd issue. Oxford has this edition and states that it seems to be very complete.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11246

Clermont. B.[Bernard] - The English translation of 'Les Soupers de la Cour' and 'La Cuisine Reformee'
The Professed Cook
OR, THE MODERN ART OF Cookery, Pastry, and Confectionary, MADE PLAIN AND EASY. Consisting of the most approved Methods in the FRENCH as well as ENGLISH COOKERY. IN WHICH The French Names of all the different Dishes are given and explained, whereby every Bill of Fare becomes intelligible and familiar. CONTAINING --- [Chapters I. to XXII] INCLUDING A TRANSLATION OF LES SOUPERS DE LA COUR; WITH THE Addition of the best Receipts which have ever appeared in the French or English Languages, and adapted to the London Markets. BY B. CLERMONT. Who has been many Years Clerk of the Kitchen in someof the first Families of this Kingdom, and lately to the Right Hon. the Earl of ABINGDON. The THIRD EDITION, revised and much enlarged. LONDON: Printed for W. DAVIS, in Picadilly; T CASLON, opposite Stationer's Hall: G. ROBINSON, in Paternoster-Row; F. NEWBERY, the Corner of St. Paul's Church-Yard; and the AUTHOR, in Princes-Street, Cavendish-Square. M.DCC.LXXVI.
8vo. Pp. Title Page. (i-x) 48pp 'Contents' (1-610) Fully bound in dark brown calf with blind tooled borders. Spine with raised bands, gilt lines and lettering and a red label. Internally quite clean and tight, however some slight foxing to first part of contents page and the title page is browned and slightly worn.
- The English translation of Menon's two works 'Les Soupers de la Cour' and 'La Cuisine Reformee'. 'Les Soupers de la Cour' was first published in 1755 and deals with dining at its most lavish, not only the grand banquets but also the smaller dinner party for twenty or thirty people, at which over a hundred dishes might be served in five courses. "Menon's book covers menus, hors d'oeuvres, entrees, and some desserts. An entire chapter is devoted to sherbets or ices and ice cream. Like Marin that other great contemporary of Menon's, both placed emphasis on their sauces. Menon's recipes were surprisingly varied, coming not only from France but Italy, Germany, Ceylon, and Flanders and used in everything from hors d'oeuvres to desserts."-- (Harrison, 'Une Affaire du Gout' 1983.) Bernard Clermont first published his English translation in 1767 under the title of 'The Art of Modern Cookery Displayed' The second English edition of 1769 had the same contents as the first but the title was changed to 'The Professed Cook'. For this third edition, however, Clermont added a considerable amount of material of his own with Menon's original work taking less of a prominent place on the title-page even though the complete text is still present. (James Burmester - Abebooks.) Of interest is the large number of ice cream recipes, such as; Cinnamon Ice, Ices of Coriander Seed, Aniseed and Junpiper Berries as well as a very unusual selection of Iced Cheeses. A fine translation of two of the great early French culinary classics.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 10944

WILLIAMS, MBE. JOHN A beautifully designed book, signed by the author.
The Ritz London - The Cookbook
The Ritz Emblem - John Williams, MBE with James Steen Photographed by John Carey - Mitchell Beazely
FIRST EDITION. 2018. Large 4to. 350 x 223 x 25mm. 1fep. 1 page half-title, signed to "Bobby Hendry I hope you enjoy the book. The Evolution of Escoffier's Cuisine. Happy Cooking John Williams". Verso with legal production details. Title page. 2 pages Contents. 6-9 Introduction from John Williams with a beautiful image of a painting of John Williams. (see below) 10-11 Through the revolving door. 1 page photograph of a dish of Quails Eggs. 13-227. 228-231 Basic Recipes and Cooking Notes. 232-223 Pictures of the kitchen and dining room brigades. 234-235 A beautiful 2 page of the dining room and kitchen brigades. 236-238 Index. 239 Glossary of Terms. 240 Compliments of the Chef & About John Williams. 1fep. A sumptuous dark navy cover with embossed silver text. The front cover has the embossed Ritz Emblem. The text block as new. The edges silver. With a thin dark blue cloth bookmark. The whole in excellent condition.
- This is one of the most handsome cookery books I've seen. It is also very unique, as its a book about and representing a very famous hotel written entirely from the Chef's perspective. Encompassing the recipes, the Hotel, the guests, dining areas. the teams and the history conveyed by John William's, whose passion oozes from the pages. One thing not generally understood by people outside the catering trade, but understood well by chefs is the difference between great hotels and great restaurants. In the restaurant the customer comes to wine and dine well, then departs before the restaurant closes. The hotel has the guests staying in-house, with all meals, room service, housekeeping, catering outlets etc that are all required every day. This creates a very different emphasis especially for the upper management. Whereas in a restaurant the focus is on wine, food and ambience. The Ritz hotel requires a 24/7 operation every day of the year. With 111 rooms and 25 suites, its Restaurant, Banqueting rooms, the Palm Court and it's famous afternoon teas, Room service, the spectrum of such varied and differing venue needs, requires a much wider approach. Chef John Williams has also helped create a fine restaurant at the Ritz, gaining its first Michelin star in 2016. At the same time, his overview of the culinary needs of the whole hotel is just as paramount, with a standard that must not drop. His whole catering background is entirely that of great Hotels, his experience very broad and his knowledge very detailed. As a cook he has found his spiritual home in the Ritz. He is a great student and admirer of Auguste Escoffier and what Escoffier's impact has been on all cooks since then. In his own words; "We would not be where we are now as chefs, had it not been for Escoffier". The Hotel was opened in 1906 by Cesar Ritz the great friend and compatriot of Escoffier who was at that time Chef de Cuisine one mile away at the Carlton Hotel Pall Mall. Escoffier and Ritz collaborated in the opening of both Ritz hotels in Paris as well as London. John Williams is very aware that he carries the legacy of those two great hoteliers, and is more than willing to rise to the challenge. Possibly helping to surpass it. One thing in the book that makes me believe this, is Williams's own story on the last page about Mr Shannon at Claridge's Hotel. This story is in the full spirit of Ritz and Escoffier, both of whom had the complete welfare and well-being of their guests as their highest priority. The book also impresses with the beautiful colour plates and recipes. I have picked one to show below in photographs 4 and 5 that possibly conveys everything about the Ritz and its history. Canard à la presse is a traditional French dish considered the height of culinary elegance. Originally a specialty of Rouen. The Rouen or Rhone ducks are large and have great flavour. It has also gained fame as a specialty of La Tour d'Argent restaurant in Paris. It consists of various parts of a roasted duck served in a sauce of its blood and bone marrow, which is extracted by way of the press seen in the photograph. The book shows all the other great dishes that The Ritz Hotel London is rightly famous for. Chef John Williams's mastery shines from every page, and is a professional testament to a life of cooking, learning, passion and achievement.

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Modern category

ref number: 11256

Gagrine. , Princess Alexandre The 1st English edition in fine condition
The Russian Cook Book.
THE RUSSIAN COOK BOOK COMPILED & TRANSLATED BY Princess Alexandre Gagarine (The printers square lined device) LONDON: William Heinemann Ltd. With a green ornamental border.
FIRST BRITISH EDITION. 1924. 8vo. 1fep. Half Title. Verso publisher's note. Title page. [1] 1p Contents. [1] 1-247. [1] 2fep. Very clean text block. Orange cloth backed blind stamped boards. Gilt lettering on the spine. Original dust jacket very slightly rubbed on the top edge. Overall very clean and well preserved. An extremely scarce book with the fine dust jacket.
- The Russian Cook Book (translated into English by Princess Gagarine) originated in the kitchen of the sumptuous house of Madame Dragomirov, the wife of The Governor General of Kiev which was famed for its cuisine. At the request of her friends, she compiled the collection of her recipes and published it with great success in Russia. It was first published in the West in 1923, in New York by Alfred A. Knopf. Titled the 'The Borzoi Cook Book' it was translated by Princess Alexandre Gagarine. This copy is the first British edition of 1924, published in London by William Heinemann and re-titled 'The Russian Cook Book', also by Princess Alexandre Gagarine. This book of fine food is the product of a very privileged lifestyle and a large household budget. It is a direct result of Madame Draomirov's record of lavish entertaining. There is a recipe for 'Soup Puree of Game' consisting of 3lb Beef and 3 Birds, (either grouse, blackcock or partridges) 3/4 lb of Barley, 1 egg yolk, 1 cup of Cream and butter. Another recipe is for the French Sauce Bernaise served with Beef steaks. Further in the book are recipes for Roasts: Turkey stuffed with Chestnuts. Roast saddle of Roebuck. A roast Bustard along with all manner of game birds. Did the common peasant ever see such spreads in their whole life.? These recipes of all the great Russian dishes are from a time before the revolution of 1917. Princess Alexandre Gagarine the compiler and translator, had fled the revolution to America, but would herself have been a member of that Russian strata of high-level privilege. She did a prudent move by translating Madame Draomirov's successful Russian version of her cookbook. She probably needed the cash. Two very different, but popular cookery books of the time, certainly counterpoint the privileged richness of Gagarine's book. No 1 is 'A Gift to Young Housewives' 1861. A Russian cookbook written and compiled by Elena Ivanovna Molokhovets and usually referred to as "Molokhovets", rather than its long title. It was the most successful book of its kind in the 19th and early 20th-century in Russia. Molokhovets revised the book continually between 1861 and 1917, a period of time falling between the emancipation of the serfs and the Communist Revolution. The book was well known in Russian households during publication and for decades afterwards. It was republished in 2003. The 2nd influential cookery book after the October revolution of 1917 was 'The Book of Healthy and Tasty Food' by Anastas Mikoyan. What Elena Molokhovets is to nineteenth-century culinary history, Anastas Mikoyan, Stalin’s commissar for foreign trade is to the Soviet era. Mikoyan’s project was as welcome to Soviet housewives, to whom it is dedicated, as Molokhovet's book had been to their great-grandmothers. Containing more than 1,400 recipes, it sold more than 8 million copies and has never been out of print since it’s 1952 publication (it was first issued in 1939, but the war hindered further print editions) Many of the recipes in the Book, as it is lovingly referred to, begin with “open a tin of…” reflecting the ubiquity of tinned food, as well as the fact that many Soviet citizens were still in possession of only one burner on a communal apartment stove. Mikoyan's book’s recipes contain ingredients that can be counted on the fingers of one hand and only a few simple steps. It also contains useful information on nutrition, cooking methods, and even the etiquette of setting a proper table, reflecting the post-war trend of returning to family life. Whereas Mikoyan's book is a government sponsored production for the masses, the 416 recipes of great variety in Princess Alexandre Gagarine's cookery book are strongly biased and worded due to the French influence in the Royal Kitchens of St.Petersburg, where great chefs like Careme and Urbain Dubois spent some time. This would have a profound knock-on effect on the kitchens and dining tables of the pre-revolution elite classes, who were strongly influenced by all things Royal. When reading the recipes one thing that surprises, is the amazing and varied abundance available, of the fresh food from water, land and air. A fascinating insight into a cuisine that is not so well known outside of Russia, plus a lifestyle that disappeared for a long time till the growth of new Russian middle and upper classes and the oligarchs, with their wealth, helped to re-establish a similar level of demand and consumption. Indeed, an ironic democratic dynamic.

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Modern category

ref number: 11266

Tryon. Thomas - Rare.
The Way to HEALTH, LONG Life and Happiness;
Or,A Discourse of TEMPERANCE, And the Particular Nature of all Things requisite for the Life of Man; As, All sorts of Meats, Drinks, Air, Exercise, &c. with special Directions how to use each of them to the best Advantage of the BODY and MIND. Shewing form the ground of Nature, Treatise of most sorts of ENGLISH HERBS, With several other remarkable and most useful Observa-tions, very necessary for all Families. The whole Trea-tise displaying the most hidden secrets of Philosophy, and made easie and familiar to the meanest Capacities, by various Examples and Demonstrances.The like never before Published. Communicated to the World for a general Good, By THOMAS TRYON, Student in PHYSICK. The Second Edition, with Amendments. LONDON; Printed by H.C. for R. Baldwin, near the Ox-ford-Arms in Warwick-Lane, 1691.
8vo. Title Page. 4pp To the Reader. 8pp The Contents. 1-500. [2] 1-18. Pages lightly age browned though-out. Contemporary dark brown calf boards with nice patina. Spine relaid in sympathetic dark brown calf with blind tooled lines with a dark brown label with gilt lettering. Overall a nice copy of a rare item.
- Thomas Tryon (1634-1703) English humanitarian: Born in the bucolic village of Bibury, Gloucestershire. At the age of 18 he left Bibury without telling his parents and travelled on foot to London with £3 savings, where he became a hatter, and also in his youth, a spinner and a shepherd. He had no formal education but taught himself to read and write. He eventually went on to write many books on vegetarianism, health, wealth, slavery, education, abstinence from alcohol and tobacco also advocating animal rights. He lived a very ascetic life even though married, eventually becoming a prosperous merchant. 'The Way to Health' became his best known book and after publication he toured and lectured on it in the United States. The book much impressed Benjamin Franklin, who followed some of its tenets and often quoted from. He had a horror of war, and was shocked by the cruelty of slavery which he saw at first hand when he travelled to Barbados. In the last two decades of his life he published 27 works on a wide range of subjects. His dietary ideas were largely plagiarised by Joseph Ritson in his Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food, published in 1802. Playwright Aphra Behn, and Percy Bysshe Shelley were also advocates of Tyron's writings. A supplement to this book called 'The Good Houswife Made A Doctor' (item 10945 on this site) was published after the publication of the first edition of 1683. Cagle 1028; MacLean pp.142/3; Oxford, p.43 (in a note); see Wing T3181.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 10963