The Cook and Confectioner DICTIONARY:
Or, the Accomplish’d Housewife’s Companion. CONTAINING, 1. The Choicest Receipts in all the several Branches of Cookery; or the best and newest Ways of dressing all sorts of Flesh, Fish, Fowl, &c. for a Common or Noble Table; with their proper Garniture and Sauces. 11. The best way of making Bisks, Farces, forc’d Meats, Marinades, Olio’s Puptons, Ragoos, Sauces, Soops, Potages, &c. according to the English, French and Italian Courts. 111. All manner of Pastry-workss, as Biskets, Cakes, Cheese-cakes, Custards, Pastes, Patties, Puddings, Pyes, Tarts, &c. 1V. The various Branches of Confectionary; as Candying, Conserving, Preserving, and Drying all sorts of Flowers, Fruits, Roots, &c. Also Jellies, Composts, Marmalades, and Sugar-works. V. The way of making all English potable Liquors; Ale, Beer, Cider, Mead, Metheglin, Mum, Perry, and all sorts of Eng-lish Wines; Also Cordials, and Beautifying Waters. V1. Directions for ordering an Entertainment, or Bills of Fare for all Seasons of the Year; and setting out a Desert of Sweeet-meats to the best Advantage: With an Explanation of the Terms us’d in Carving. According to the Practice of the most celebrated Cooks, Confectioners, &c. in the Courts of England, France, c. and many private and accomplish’d House-wives. The Second Edition with Additions. Revised and Recommended By John Nott, late Cook the Dukes of Somerset, Ormond and Bolton; Lord Landsdown and Ashburnham. LONDON: Printed H.P. for C. Rivington, at the Bible and Crown, in St. Paul’s Church-yard. 1724. [Price six Shillings.]
8vo. 2feps. [1] Frontis-piece by J.Pine. Title page in red and black type. [1] 4p Introduction with printers device at the top. 2p Divertisements in Cookery. No page numbers but by the Alphabet 1+AL-YO. 14p Bills of Fare and Terms for Carving and setting out Dessert. 17p Index. 1p Advertisements. 2feps. Beautiful original two-tone dark tan boards with a modern dark calf spine with rasied bands and blind tooling. With a dark tan label and gilt lettering. A nice tightly bound and clean copy.
- John Nott, Cook to his Grace the Duke of Bolton strikes one in no small measure as being quite eccentric, at least on paper. In his book, the dedication is addressed to ‘all good housewives’ and starts ‘Worthy Dames----‘ He carries on, ‘-----it is unfashionable for a Book to come abroad without an Introduction, as for a Man to appear at Church with-out a Neckcloth, or a Lady without a Hoop-petticoat----‘ further on he states, ‘----of which I am satisfied you are already very sensible, or extol my own Performance; however, I flatter myself it will not, to you, be unacceptable----‘ he further addresses the Ladies, ‘---I have not troubled you with Fucus’s and Paints, for the putting of false Faces upon Nature, because you, my Country Women, for the Generality of you (as is allow’d even by all ingenious Foreigners) stand less in need of artificial Faces (your natural ones being more amiable) than those of your Sex in neighbouring Nations, with all their Paintings and Daubings;-----‘ Nott un-does his own efforts near the end of the dedication by proclaiming, ‘---And, indeed, great Pity were it if this Beneficence of Providence should be marr’d in the ordering, so as justly to merit the Reflection of the old Proverb, that though “God sends us Meat, yet the Devil does Cooks”------.’ I am sure that if English and also foreign Housewifes, as potential customers, had read the Dedication before buying it, the sales of Nott’s book would have taken a severe dip. However in saying all of the above, it is after all, extremely scarce, interesting and well laid out. There are very few copies that come up for sale at auction, bookfairs, in antiquarian bookshops or dealers catalogues.
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Antiquarian category
ref number:
11037