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Savoy Hotel. London. - Printed a month before Escoffier joined Ritz.
A framed advert - circa 1890.
Victoria Embankment. LONDON. PERFECTION OF LUXURY AND COMFORT. Artistic Furniture. Shaded Electric Lights everywhere at all hours of night and day. NO GAS. The Finest River and Garden View in London, giving a Panorama of the Thames from Battersea to London Bridge. All the Corridors thoroughly Warmed in the Cold Weather by Hot Water. Suites of rooms on every Floor, with Private Bath Rooms, &c. Sixty-seven Bath Rooms. No charge for Baths. Large and Luxurious “Ascending Rooms” running all night. Top Floor Rooms equal in every respect to the Lowest. Large Central Courtyard with Plants, Flowers, &c. (A black and white finely detailed etching of the Savoy as seen from the Thames.) THE RESTAURANT Open to the Public. Luncheons and Dinners served on the Terrace overlooking the beautiful Embankment Gardens and River. This Terrace is enclosed by glass, and warmed during the winter. In the hot weather, dinners, &c, , are served in the open air. THE ONLY OPEN AIR RESTAURANT IN LONDON. The Restaurant has been organized under the superintendanceof M. RITZ, the well-known Hotel Manager from Monte Carlo, Cannes, and Baden-Baden, and of the popular Maitre d’Hotel “Francois” (M. RINJOUX), of the Grand Hotel at Monte Carlo. Manager of the Restaurant – M. ECHENARD. Chef, -- M. CHARPENTIER. The cuisine rivals the most famous Cpntinental Cafes. For tariff and rooms apply to the Manager of the Hotel, Mr. HERDWICKE.
247 x 177mm. A one page light brown advertisement for the Savoy Hotel, London. Circa 1890. A small part of the top right hand corner missing. A small chip missing on the side. Not affecting the text. Nicely mounted and framed in a fine gold frame with a 2” cream coloured cloth mount. The whole measuring 415 x 325mm. Overall very nice condition. A very rare item of ephemera.
- The facts behind this Savoy Hotel advertisement are very interesting and can be dated quite accurately. The names and the places are all extensively recorded in the numerous biographies of Escoffier and Ritz. It starts with a very persuasive and intelligent entrepreneur named Richard D’Oyly Carte who had built and opened the Savoy Theatre between the Strand and Thames embankment, London. It was the most modern theatre in London with the newly invented electric lighting. The theatre was very popular and D’Oyly Carte wisely realised that the theatre-goers needed a nearby place to dine after the performances. The land behind the theatre was known as the old ‘Savoie Mannor’. A sloping field overgrown with weeds and littered with bottles that looked out upon the coal wharves, barges and general flotsam of the Thames Embankment. D’Oyly Carte purchased the land, drew up plans for a hotel and started construction on 1884. The Savoy Hotel was opened on the 6th August, 1889. It was extremely popular in the beginning but D’Oyly Catre noticed that the clientele numbers had started to drop after three months. It was obvious that the food was not up to scratch nor the management capable of dramatically improving the needed standards. Lilly Langtry was a good friend of D’Oyly Carte. She urged him to approach Cesar Ritz the famous hotelier, to take advantage of Ritz’s fame after he had established and managed some of the most luxurious hotels in the world such as the Ritz Hotels in London and Paris, also the Grand Hotel in Rome, the L’Hotel Salasamaggiore in the province of Parma etc etc. Ritz also had a longstanding partnership with Auguste Escoffier who managed the kitchens of those famous hotels. Both of them were dedicated to the highest standards, and they were as famous as the establishments they served. Ritz was initially opposed to going to England as he and Escoffier were already very committed and busy. D’Oyly Carte paid him handsomely just to visit and in 1889 Cesar stayed in and inspected the Savoy. On returning home he told his wife the food was terrible and weather was worse. Equally, he was very excited about the wealth of the clientele and the beauty of hotel. In January 1890 Cesar signed a contract to manage the Savoy Hotel. His first task was to convince Escoffier to come and manage the Kitchens and Restaurants. The manager of the restaurant, M. Echenard, (at the bottom of the advert) was a Master of Wine and became Cesar’s assistant. Another name at the bottom is the Manager of the Hotel – Mr. Hardwicke. He proved unable to keep the initial business nor manage the Hotel as it needed to be. Another name is the Chef. M. Charpentier. Before coming to the Savoy he had worked for Rothschild but did not have the notion to run a large restaurant with a’ la carte menus. The Prince of Wales complained that the cooking was as dull as Windsor Castle’s. Escoffier finally accepted the position of Maitre Chef de Cuisine and started in the Kitchen on April 1890. It was not without drama. There was very bad feeling about the dismissals and when Escoffier walked into the kitchen on his first day he found everything destroyed. To save the day he asked his friend Louis Peyre who managed the Kitchens of the Charing Cross Hotel to help. Peyre supplied everything that day and gave Escoffier time to organise the kitchen for the next day. As the advertisement also has Ritz’s name on it as the manager of the Restaurant, it must have been printed between January 1890 (probably on Cesar’s initiative) and April 1890, sometime just before Escoffier started.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11189

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - A beautiful copy bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe
A Guide To Modern Cookery
BY A. ESCOFFIER OF THE CARLTON HOTEL LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN 1907. Inserted inside --- a 4 page promotional pamphlet for: ESCOFFIER LIMITED. Wholesale Department:- RIDGEMONT STREET. (Off Shore Street) TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD, LONDON, WC. Inside it tells us: ESCOFFIER PREPARATIONS. Manufactured under the Supervision of MONS. ESCOFFIER. of the Carlton Hotel. London. With lists of all Escoffier items and prices.
FIRST ENGLISH EDITION. Royal Octavo. Marbled paste-down back and front with marbled endpapers. 1fep. Half title. [1] Frontispiece of 'Escoffier'. Title Page. [1] 1+v-x Preface. 1+xii Contents. 1+xiv-xvi Glossary. 1+2-880. 1fep. Beautifully bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe in full green morocco. Beautiful gilt tooling to edges and spine with gilt motif of crossed knifes and forks and sand timers on corners of the boards. A red goatskin label with gilt lettering. All page edges gilt. Housed for protection in a sympathetic green buckram and morocco covered slip case. Internally - as new.
- This is the second copy of 'A Guide to Modern Cookery' 1907, I have seen with the promotional pamphlet tucked inside. It is quite possible that Escoffier had this nicely designed, four page price list inserted in every copy of 'A Guide to Modern Cookery'. Escoffier (1846-1935) was a great innovator, as can be seen by the large range of sauces, soups, pickles, consomme, vinegars etc (even the famous Sauce Melba) featured in the pamphlet. Probably the most lasting but least known food item that he developed and started producing on a large commercial scale, was tinned tomatoes. He is credited, in their excellent biography of Escoffier by Eugene Herbodeau and Paul Thalamas, of first producing 2000 x 2 kilo tins in Saxon-les-Bains for the Savoy Hotel, while he was Chef de Cuisine. The fame of the product grew so fast that the following year, the food manufacturer, La Maison Caressa of Nice produced 60.000 kilos under his direction. This book is in exceptional condition and with the enclosed Escoffier pamphlet which in itself is a rare piece of ephemera, makes this item very desirable.

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Modern category

ref number: 10928

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - A signed copy with items of ephemera.
A Guide To Modern Cookery
BY A. ESCOFFIER OF THE CARLTON HOTEL WITH PORTRAIT NEW AND REVISED EDITION LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN 1916.
Fourth impression of the fist English edition of 1907. 3 feps (1fep with 2 b/w photos of cakes and the signature in ink of Manuel Paget). Half title with Escoffier's signature in pencil - "A. Escoffier Avril 1917". [2] Frontispiece of 'Escoffier'. Title Page with tissue guard. [1] (1)vi-x Preface. (1)xii Contents. (1)xiv-xvi Glossary. (1)2-848. (1)Index half-title. [1] 312-891 Index. [1] 2feps. Bound in modern mid-brown half calf with brown cloth boards and calf corners. Spine with raised bands and gilt lines, tooling and lettering. Very good condition throughout. All edges green. A signed copy with a copy of a letter written by Escoffier and a postcard with an illustration of him.
- This copy of 'A Guide To Modern Cookery' has two very nice contemporary black and white photographs pasted-in the page before the half-title. One is of a beautiful christening cake with pulled sugar flowers and decorated chocolate run-outs, the other a wedding croquembouche with the same style of sugar flowers and chocolate work. Both cakes probably the work of the same Patissier. Above the photographs is the signature of 'Manual Paget'. Having done some research into Manual Paget with no positive results, one can possibly assume that he may have been the Patissier responsible for the cakes he pasted in to the book he'd had signed and dated by Escoffier; on Avril 1917. Escoffier was Maitre Chef de Cuisine at the Carlton Hotel, Pall Mall, London. His tenure there lasted 20 years - 1899-1919.

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Modern category

ref number: 10931

ESCOFFIER. GEORGES AUGUSTE - Signed by Escoffier and photograph of his Kitchen brigade 1908.
A GUIDE TO MODERN COOKERY
BY A. ESCOFFIER OF THE CARLTON HOTEL WITH PORTRAIT NEW AND REVISED EDITION (with a printer's device and initials M.H.) LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN 1907.
FIRST ENGLISH EDITION. 165x250mm. 1fep with signature in black ink - "A. Escoffier" and a b/w photograph of Escoffier and his kitchen brigade on the roof of the Carlton Hotel 1908. [1] Half Title. Verso with Advertisements. [1] Frontispiece of 'Escoffier' with tissue guard with a 1/2" oil stain on the edge, not affecting the photograph. (the oil stain affects the edge of all to page 33. Does not affect the text). Title Page. [1] (1)vi-x Preface. (1)xii Contents. (1)xiv-xvi Glossary. (1)1-848. [1p Index] [1] (1)852-891 Index. 1p Advertisements. 1fep with light foxing. Original full green cloth binding with gilt writing and tooling on front cover, quite fresh. The sun-faded spine has also been expertly re-laid and strengthened. Internally very good with slight browning and foxing to the feps. With the signature, b/w photograph of Escoffier and the Carlton Hotel Kitchen Brigade, plus the original cover; A very unique and rare copy.
- The provenance of this book is quite interesting. The father of a Welsh family owned this book since 1950-51. He was part of a Family musical act called 'Seven de Guise Seymours'. They used to feature in the music halls from the mid 1920's till the outbreak of WW11. He was also a friend of Elton Hayes who was the lute player in the early Robin Hood films and known to the family as Uncle Bish. Hayes was in the habit of spending Christmas with the Welsh family. He always brought the family nice presents. One of them being this signed copy of Escoffier's 'Guide to Modern Cookery' with the unique photograph the Master with his kitchen brigade taken on the roof of the Carlton Hotel 1908. Altogether this amounts to a rare item.

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Modern category

ref number: 11108

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - Signed by Escoffier, unusually in English.
A GUIDE TO MODERN COOKERY
BY A. ESCOFFIER OF THE CARLTON HOTEL WITH PORTRAIT NEW AND REVISED EDITION (with a printer's device and initials M.H.) LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN 1909
165x250mm. 1fep. Half title with signature in black ink "To Mr H. Fowler With best Compliments A. Escoffier London 16 Fevrier 1909" (with a very little light foxing). [1] Frontispiece of 'Escoffier' with tissue guard. Title Page. [1] (1)vi-x Preface. (1)xii Contents. (1)xiv-xvi Glossary. (1)1-848. [1p Index] [1] (1)852-891 Index. 1p Advertisements. 1fep. Original clean full green cloth binding with bright gilt writing and tooling on the spine and front cover with a slight rubbing to edges. The gutter inside is split but holding well. All edges green. Internally, clean and bright. Also enclosed is a beautifully produced four page 'Escoffier Ltd' promotional pamphlet and price list for all Escoffier Sauces, and we are also informed the Preparations can be obtained from all high-class Grocers and Stores. It has a fold in the middle and slight browning around the edges.
- The first English edition was published in 1907. This is the 3 imprint and the second English translation of the first French edition of 1903. At that time of publication, Escoffier was Maitre Chef de Cuisine of the Carlton Hotel, Pall Mall, London. His tenure there lasted 20 years, from 1899 - 1919. Nice clean original bound copies with the gilt lettering still bright are very scarce and with the unusual signature and the rare pamphlet - an altogether rare and handsome copy.

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Modern category

ref number: 11124

Soyer. Alexis Benoit Very rare.
A Handwritten Letter signed by Soyer.
Headed Reform Club. Wed 4th. 1949. With a small cut-out of Soyer's portrait tipped in. The letter states -- Dr Sir In accordance with your wishes I beg to enclose the [??] taken from my Gastronomic Regenerator. Yours Sincerely A. Soyer.
The letter is one sheet of paper folded in half. The beautiful cursive script (not in Soyer's hand but probably by one of his secretaries, although signed by Soyer) is on the outside fold and on the inside is a tipped-in clip from a newspaper describing an illustrious dinner provided by Soyer for five or six hundred guests at the Chancellor-House, Hammersmith. (It provides a very flattering account of some grand dishes served. Knowing Soyer's famous penchant for self-promotion, there is a good possibility the newspaper article was attached by Soyer himself.) The letter is housed in a neat marbled, cardboard folder with a handwritten label on the front cover. A very rare item
- Alexis Soyer 1810 - 1858. The great chef of the Reform Club, Pall Mall, London. Author of eight major books on Cookery and Gastronomy, an inventor, especially of the magic and field stoves, a manufacturer of his range of sauces and relishes, and unceasing self-publicist. He led an extremely productive professional life and was famous for his newly designed Kitchens at the Reform Club, also noted for his work in the Crimea in the hospitals at Scutari and his soup kitchens in Ireland during the great famine. Refusing the urgings of his friends to rest, it was small wonder when he died burnt out at the age of 48. Despite what should have been a lucrative arrangement with Messrs Crosse and Blackwell, he left only £1500 at his death. A rum distiller called David Hart succeeded in taking all the cash and Soyer's personal papers in lieu of an unpaid debt. He destroyed all the papers and notes. Because of that short-sighted and selfish action, any signed or manuscript notes in Soyer's hand are exremely rare.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 10990

Herbage. Peter F.
A History of the Worshipful Company of Cooks.
THE COOKS and THE CITY OF LONDON A HISTORY of the WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF COOKS LONDON published for the QUINCENTENARY of the INCORPORATION OF THE COMPANY by PETER F. HERBAGE Master 1974/5 LONDON 1982
12mo. 1fep. Half title. On verso - frontispiece of past Masters. Title page. Verso with printer's info. 1p Dedication [1] 1p Acknowledgements. [1] 1p Contents. [1] 1p Preface. [1] 2p Author's Forward. [2] 1-237. [1] 239-242 Appendix A.B&C. 243-247 List of Masters. 248-255 Appendix D.E.F.G&H. 2p Engravings. 258-260 Index. 1fep. Original full red cloth binding with gilt text on spine and gilt armorial and text on front cover. As new.
- The earliest guilds in England were the ’Frith Gilds’[sic] of Saxon Times. They were not yet associations of craftsmen. Members accepted responsibility declaring “Lets share the same lot, if any misdo lets all bear it”, and they also took an oath of fidelity. They met once a month for a guild feast, their leader being known as an Alderman. We learn from this well informed text that in 1327 a King’s writ was issued to the Mayor and Alderman ordering them to “punish such bakers, cooks etc -----, as are found lax in their work and ministries -----“. One such case of a punishment made to fit the crime, was meted out to Richard Rouse, cook to the Bishop of Rochester. In 1530, he poisoned sixteen persons with broth intended for his Master, and was subsequently sentenced to be boiled to death. Besides the stern treatment of miscreant cooks, the book informs that the ‘The Worshipful Company of Cooks’ is the smallest of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Company traces its origins back to the 12th Century, founded from two guilds of cooks in medieval London - the Cooks of EastCheap and the Cooks of Bread Street. The Company received its Royal Charter in 1482. As you would expect from a Company whose roots can be traced back to 1170, the Worshipful Company of Cooks has a rich and colourful history from the earliest records of Cooks in the Middle Ages and their control of the craft until the 19th Century to the Company’s current charitable works. The Company is no longer an association of tradesmen in its original sense of control; yet its membership today still includes craft tradesmen, as well as active engagement with a broad range of organisations associated with cooking. The Company's purpose in contemporary times can be summarised by three principal objectives: *1- To support the modern day craft of cooking including catering excellence through competition, scholarly and scientific culinary research, and the development of food policy; *2- To fund a range of charitable activities associated with the welfare and education of the catering trade, as well as the City of London *3- To pursue a fellowship of association that can mobilise the necessary resource, skill and wisdom to bring the other two about. The Cooks' Company ranks thirty-fifth in the order of precedence of Livery Companies. Its motto is ‘Vulnerati Non Victi’, Latin for ‘Wounded not Conquered’. This is a well researched history that brings the reader thro’ the ages of a London Livery Company and its total of nine charters granted by various Kings and Queens. A 1st edition of this book was compiled in 1932 with 207 pages. See item -ref: # 11222, on this site.

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Modern category

ref number: 11112

ANON. A label for an expensive Paris sweet shop. circa 1820.
A LA SOURCE DES DOUCEURS.
POMEREL. G.dre de M. CHEVET. CONFISEUR DISTILLATEUR. de S.A.R. Madame la Duchesse de Berry, Fabrique Dragees et Fruits pour Baptemes, Bonbons, assiettes mentees Corbeilles et Cartonnage pour Fetes et Etrennes; Chocolat de Sante et a la Vanille, Confitures de toutes especes; Pate d' Auvergne; Gelee de Pommes de Rouen; Sirops; Fruits a la Eau-de-vie; Liqueu et Nins de Liqueurs;Envoie en Province et a l'Etranger. a' Paris. RUE MONTESQUIEU, No 5.
160 mm in Dia. Top half is an illustration of children finding many sweets at the bottom of a waterfall. With a picnic table set up a maid for a lady of means. A very beautiful black and white, ornately designed label for a company/shop selling many different sweets. Housed in a marbled card folder.
- By the quality of the illustration on this label it must have been a high-end establishment. A long search online did not enlighten. A unique item. (If anyone can shed any more light on this item, it would be much appreciated).

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11313

Soyer. Alexis Benoist - Soyer's detailed plan.
A large print of Reform Club Kitchen.
A print of the original drawing and lithograph of the new Reform Club Kitchens drawn by Jn. Farring Arch. Dedicated by Soyer to the members of the Club.
590mm x 908mm. Framed in a dark brown Walnut frame 25mm wide, with a thin gold inside border. Covered in a non-reflective glass. Overall in excellent condition. An original print from the open plan drawing of the new Kitchen, commissioned by Soyer and the Reform Club. Published by A. Soyer, 26 Charing Cross. 1842.
- The new club opened its doors on 24th May 1836 at Dysart House, 104 Pall Mall, next door to the Carlton Club. Its membership had already reached one thousand, including nearly 250 MPs. The Committee set about commissioning a new clubhouse at immense expense, from the architect Charles Barry, a task that was completed, to spectacular effect, five years later. 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.

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Modern category

ref number: 11198

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - A pertinant signed handwritten letter
A letter to P. Andrieu, signed by Escoffier.
A two page letter written at his retirement home in Monte-Carlo, 20 November, 1934
Addressed to Monsieur P(ierre) Andrieu, --- Paris. The two pages are covered in Escoffier's handwriting. There is also a one page English translation of the letter. A very clean item. Enclosed in a neat marbled cardboard folder. With a label on the front cover. The letter is from the library of Pierre Orsi, the famous Lyon restuaranteur. A rare item.
- The letter is written one year before Escoffier's death. He writes in a rather shaky hand -- [Dear Sir, I am very surprised that you did not receive my letter which was in answer to yours, whereby you were asking me to write an article for the newspaper "L'action automobile". This article should have been about regional cuisine as seen from the point of view of the chef - Curnonsky treats it from the point of view of the gastronome. Between the chef and Curnonsky there is a wide gap that I do not wish to bridge. Mr Curnonsky speaks as a writer, he is charming and his articles are interesting in places but I have no desire to be the cause of any arguments. To answer your question, I could only do it after reading the article "les princes de la cuisine francaise". Despite all my desire to be agreeable to you and Mr Roussel, it will be impossible for me to do it. I must also tell you that the different regional cuisines do not exist anymore. Ever since all the "regions" have been merged by the advance of the automobile which created easier access from one country to another, we have now in France only one cuisine and that is French Cuisine. -- With deepest regret for not acceding to your wishes, Yours sincerely, A. Escoffier. -- My best wishes to Mr Roussel.] Pierre Andrieu was an author of many articles and books in the domain of wine and gastronomy. He was also a collaborator of Curnonsky's. Together they published in 1935 a book about the restaurants of France, titled 'Les Fines Gueules de France'. This letter pertains to the research for that book. Maurice Edmond Sailland (October 12, 1872, Angers, France – July 22, 1956, Paris), better known by his pen-name Curnonsky and dubbed the Prince of Gastronomy, was the most celebrated writer on gastronomy in France in the 20th century. He wrote or ghost-wrote over 65 books and enormous numbers of newspaper columns. He is often considered the inventor of gastronomic motor-tourism as popularized by Michelin, though he himself could not drive. The contents of the letter display an ironic point of interest. Escoffier, one year before his death is offering a glimpse of the changes he is seeing to his beloved French cuisine. Having re-organised, during his life time, the French kitchen so fundamentally from that of the Bel-Epoque era he is still only really interested in viewing the changes from the chef's point of view. It is obvious that even at the grand old age of eighty eight, he is still active and well informed.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 10989