The St. James's Cookery Book
London: Chapman and Hall, Ld. 1894. First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo size, 187 pp. Very Good. Item #SB3784
In the preface dated November, 1893, the author (of whom we could find no information online) almost apologies for her work: "...it may seem presumptuous on my part to add [yet another cookbook] to their number." However, she states that she believes the recipes "culled as they are from different nations" may be of interest, and that they "may prove of service to many a young housekeeper who finds the complicated terms contained in recipes for cooking somewhat beyond her."
A charming side note are the hints she offers to the "young housekeepers"; for example, the book's Introduction begins: "Tell your cook that it is your habit to look after every part of your domain....[d]o not feel, as too many mistresses do, that you are intruding when you go into the kitchen. Never forget that the house is yours, and that you are responsible for the disposition of the stores bought with your or your husband's money...."
A book which is rather scarce in the marketplace; as of this writing, there are no copies of this first edition (1894) online, although there are four copies of the 1903 printing available. OCLC locates nine copies of this 1894 first edition with institutions.
___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full blue watered silk over boards, gilt lettering on the front and spine, fore-edge uncut, top and bottom edges rough-cut, advertisements on both endpapers; octavo size (8" by 5 5/8"), pagination: [i-viii] [1] 2-179.
___CONDITION: Very good, the silk boards mostly clean with just a few spots of soil, a strong text block with a few guttars beginning to crack, but holding well, solid hinges, the interior clean other than a few spots of foxing and a stray mark or two, and the only prior owner markings we see some check marks to recipes in the Index at the rear; text block slighty cocked, corners gently bumped and just beginning to rub, sunning to the outer margins of the boards and the spine, and some foxing to the text block edges; overall a solid, very good copy.
___CITATION: OCLC no. 24186092.
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Price: $200.00