The Compleat City and Country Cook: or Accomplish’d Housewife.
Containing, Several Hundred of the most approv’d Receipts in Cookery, Confectionary, Cordials, Cosmeticks, Jellies, Pastry, Pickles, Preserving, Syrups, English Wines &c. Illustrated with Forty-nine large Copper Plates, directing the regular placing the various Dishes on the Table, from one to four or five Courses: Also, Bills of Fare according to the several Seasons for every Month of the Year. Likewise, The Horse-shoe Table for the Ladies at the late In-stalment at Windsor, the Lord Mayor's Table, and other Hall Dinners in the City of London; with a Fish Table. &c. By Charles Carter, Lately Cook to his Garce the Duke of Argyle, The Earl of Pontefract, the Lord Cornwallis, &c. To which is added by way of Appendix, Near Two Hundred of the most approv'd Receipts in Physick and Surgery for the Cure of the most common Diseases incedent to Families: THE COLLECTION OF A NOBLE LADY DECEASED. A work design'd for the Good, and absulutely Necessary for all Families. LONDON: Printed for A.Bettesworth and C.Hitch; and C.Davis in Pater-noster Row: T.Green at Charing-Cross; and S.Austen in St. Paul's Church-Yard. M.DCC.XXXII.
FIRST EDITION. 1fep.[1] Title Page.[1] iii-viii Preface. 1-144. 145-280 Appendix. [1] 45 Engravings from copper plates of table settings with each page blank on the reverse side. 4 Further folding plates of table settings. 20 pages of Advertisements. 1fep. Small worm holes at the top of the advertisements and the fep. not affecting text. The original full dark brown calf expertly re-laid. With double gilt lines to the borders, raised bands and gilt lines on spine with later black label with gilt lettering. The cover with a nice patina. The text is clean and the pages have pleasing wide margins. The Title page and plates very slightly age browned but overall a very nice copy of a very scarce item.
- Carter’s second work, which has about 144 pages of his own recipes, with the rest being an appendix of recipes of interest to the “Mistress of a House or Housekeeper”, for preserves, pickles, drinks, cosmetics, and remedies. The medical part of two hundred cures and treatments is described on the title page as being taken from “The collection of a noble lady deceased”, thus presumably being from a household manuscript and secrets book. Oxford describes these recipes as “a horrid mixture of filth and superstition”. Besides the Dukes and Earls mentioned on the Title page, Carter was Cook to other nobles and military men including Lord Whitworth in “several embassies to Berlin, the Hague &c”, the House of Hanover and General Wade in Spain and Portugal in 1710 during the War of Spanish Succession. The last folded plate of the famous Horse-shoe shaped table is much copied in other books and is often used to highlight auction catalogues.
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Antiquarian category
ref number:
11047