Cookery Books in

The Special Collections Research Center

March, 2011

Cervio, Vincenzo. Il trinciante di M. Vincenzo Cervio / ampliato, et ridotto a perfettione dal cavallier reale Fusoritto da Narni,... Imprint Venetia [Venice]: Appresso gli heredi di Francesco Tramezini, 1581

Il Tinciante di M. VincenzoCervio (The Carving Knife of M. Vincenzio Cervio) presents an elaborate treatise on carving, with directions for the cutting up of various foods, including fruit, fish, shellfish, and fowl.

Weckerin, Anna. En artig oc meget nyttelig kogebog. Kiobenhaffn [Copenhagen]: Peter Hake, 1648.

The 1616 first edition of this work was one of Denmarks’ earliest published cookbooks. The 1648 edition is one of the oldest cookbooks in our collection. The traditional fish dishes of this maritime nation predominate. Frau Weckerin, widow of a German physician, saw her works translated into other languages for sale throughout the world. Her recipes were noted for providing information about healthy diets as well as recipes for the sick.

Moxon, Elizabeth (n.d.) English Housewifry Exemplified in Above Four Hundred and Fifty Receipts… Leeds: George Copperwaite, 1758.

This popular title by Elizabeth Moxon was in its eighth edition by 1758, attesting to the popularity of its advice and recipes. The book was written for "mistresses of families, higher and lower women servants and confined to things useful” Woodcuts and foldouts at the back of the book show suggested table arrangements for the placement of foods.

Donovan, Michael (d.1876). The Cabinet Cyclopaedia...Domestic Economy. London: Longman, et al, 2 volumes; 1830, 1837.

Domestic Economy provides a technical explanation of processes involved in brewing and distilling beverages and the preparation of food It was written for the layman interested in the elemental sources of nutrition. Donovan was a professor of Chemistry in Ireland when he was asked to contribute to Dr. Lardner’s popular Cabinet Cyclopaediaseries.

Glasse, Hanna (1708-1770). The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. Edinburgh: Alexander Donaldson, 1774.

In her preface, the author states that she has not written "...in the high polite styles..." rather, her intention is to "...instruct the lower sort...” First published in 1747, this work continued to be published into the nineteenth century, well after the author’s death. Glasse had as her target audience the increasingly literate servant class in the fine homes of England.

Kitchiner, William (1775-1827). The Cook's Oracle: Containing Receipts for Plain Cookery on the Most Economical Plan for Private Families. London: A. Constable & Co., 1823.

A physician by training, Kitchiner was also a best selling author on a wide variety of self-help topics including cookery. Presaging popular themes of today, he cites poor quality food as being responsible for impairing health and producing disease. Further, he admonishes shoppers to pay ready money (cash) for everything and deal with respectable tradesmen in their own neighborhoods.

The treatise on domestic economy in Ladies' Library was written for servantsand mistresses of families. It includes sections on cookery, domesticmedicine, preservation of beauty and prevention of deformity as well as a"vast fund of miscellaneous information of the highest importance indomestic life."

Volume I of The Ladies' Library: or, Encyclopedia of Female Knowledge.... London: J. Ridgway, 1790.

Volume II of The Ladies' Library: or Encyclopedia of Female Knowledge.... London: J. Ridgeway, 1790.

Brillat-Savarin, Jean Anthelme (1755-1826). Physiologie du Gout. [Paris]: Gabriel de Gonet, 1848.

First published in 1825, just months before his death, Brillat-Savarin’s Physiologie du Gout(Physiology of Taste) has never been out of print. Often quoted on matters epicurean, his remark “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are” endures in our expression “You are what you eat”

Cobbett, William. Cottage Economy...The Poor Man's Friend. New York: John Doyle, 1833, 1850 edition.

William Cobbett (1763-1835) was born on a small farm in Surrey, England. A self-educated man, he worked at a variety of occupations in England and America. He composed this book to aid those in the laboring classes who wished to better their family life with practical advice on such matters as brewing beer, making bread, keeping cows, preparing grass and grain for making hats and bonnets and instructions for erecting icehouses.

Beecher, Catherine E. (1800-1878) and Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896). The American Woman's Home: or, Principles of Domestic Science. New York: J.B. Ford and Company, 1870.

Catherine Beecher and her sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a number of books in support of their American social reform ideals, including education of women and abolition of slavery. In this work, they provide detailed instruction for “the maintenance of economical, healthful, beautiful and Christian homes” as for example, “The frying-pan--True way of using it” in chapter thirteen.

A Noble Boke Off Cookry Offor a Prynce Houssolde or Eny Other Estately Houssolde: Reprinted Verbatim from a Rare Manuscript in the Holkham Collection. Edited by Mrs. Alexander Napier. London: Elliot Stock, 1882.

Robina Napier was the wife of Alexander Napier, Vicar of Holkham, and as such was allowed access to the magnificent library of the Earls of Leicester at Holkham Hall. Napier’s interest in publishing the Noble Boke was literary rather than instructional. She estimated the date of the original manuscript as not much later than 1647.

Bugbee, James Mckellar (1837 1913). Cocoa and chocolate : a short history of their production and use. Dorchester, Mass.: Walter Baker and Company. c1886.

Published by Walter Baker and Company, this small book is representative of late 19th

century food marketing in America. Though it copies the format of traditional cookery books it’s sole aim was to promoted the production and use of the company’s products (cocoa and chocolate) in the home. Recipes for beverages and desserts predominate.

Lincoln, Mary J. (1844-1921). Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1913.

Mary Lincoln was raised in Massachusetts and graduated from the Wheaton Female Seminary. She began to support her family in 1879 working as an Instructor at the Boston Cooking School. Aside from the expected recipes and guidance for housekeeping, Lincolns’ book provides instruction on establishing a cooking school of one’s own, complete with examination questions and course descriptions.