Library

I am a bit of a cookbook nut, I own 400+, but below is a list of what I consider to be my core historical cookery collection, although I have many others in PDF format, photographs from archives, etc.

COOKBOOKS

  • A Baghdad Cookery Book, Charles Perry.
  • A Colonial Plantation Cookbook: The Receipt Book of Harriott Pinckney Horry, 1770. Edited by Richard J. Hooker.
  • A Drizzle of Honey: The Lives and Recipes of Spain’s Secret Jews, David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson, 1999. The contents of this book come mainly from non-cookbook sources from the late 15th century through the 17th century, or thereabouts.
  • Annals of the Caliph’s Kitchen, Nawal Nasrallah, 2010.
  • A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Class, Charles Elme Francatelli, 1852.  E-book.
  • A Queen’s Delight or The Art of Preserving, Conserving and Candying, Anonymous, 1671. E-book.
  • A Sip Through Time: A Collection of Old Brewing Recipes, Cindy Renfrow, 1995.
  • A Taste of Ancient Rome, Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa, 1994.
  • American Cookery, Amelia Simmons, 1796 (second edition). My copy is a facsimile.
  • Apicius: Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome, Apicius, 1977.
  • Arte de Cozina, Pasteleria, Vizcocheria, y Conserveria. Francisco Martinez Montiño, 1637. E-book.
  • Best of the BAKE-OFF Collection, 1959.  This is a Pillsbury Bake Off book and probably the latest I consider “historical cookery” at this point.
  • Best of Delectable Foods and dishes from al-Andalus and al-Maghrib: A Cookbook by Thirteenth-Century Andalusi Scholar Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī, Nawal Nasrallah, 2021.
  • De Re Coquinaria, Apicius, antiquity. Latin and English.  E-book
  • Early French Cookery: Sources, History, Original Recipes and Modern Adaptations, D. Eleanor Scully and Terrence Scully, 2002.
  • English Housewifery Exemplified, Elizabeth Moxon, 1764.  E-book.
  • Fabulous Feasts: Medieval Cookery and Ceremony, Madeleine Pelner Cosman, 1976.  Only about a quarter of the book is recipes but I felt it belong here anyway.
  • Foods That Will Win the War and How to Cook Them, C. Houston Goudiss and Alberta M. Goudiss, 1918.  E-book.
  • Good Housekeeping’s Cookery Compendium, 1952.
  • How to Milk an Almond, Stuff an Egg, and Armor a Turnip: A Thousand Years of Recipes, David Friedman, 2011.
  • La Varenne’s Cookery: The French Cook; The French Pastry Chef; The French Confectioner, Terrence Scully, 2006.  This is a translation of three large bodies of work by Francoise Pierre, also known as La Varenne, from the 17th century.
  • Libro del Arte de Cozina. Diego Granado, 1599. E-book.
  • Libro del Arte de Cozina. Domingo Hernandez de Maceras, 1607. E-book.
  • Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweatmeats, Karen Hess, 1996.  This book is a compilation of a manuscript that belonged to the Martha Washington family with recipes dating back to the Late Middle Ages and annotated by Hess.
  • Mrs. Beeton’s Household Management, Isabella Beeton, 1859-1851.  This is a modern paperback copy.
  • Mrs. Mary Eale’s Receipts, Mary Eale Confectioner to her late Majesty Queen Anne, 1733. E-book.
  • Mrs. Rorer’s Cook Book, Mrs. S T Roger, 1886. My book is actually an original edition. It’s in good shape, except for some spine separation in the first few pages.
  • Nuevo Arte de Cocina, Sacado de la Escuela de la Experiencia Economica. Juan Altamiras, 1767 (though early copies exist). E-book.
  • Nuevo Manual del Concinero Cubano y Español. J. P. Legran, 1857. E-book.
  • Old Cookery Books and Ancient Cuisine, W. Carew Hazlitt, 1902. E-book.
  • New Art of Cookery by Juan Altamiras: A Spanish Friar’s Kitchen Notebook. Juan de Altamiras and Vicky Hayward, 1745 and 2017.
  • Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks, Constance B. Hieatt et. al, 1996.
  • Scents and Flavors: A Syrian Cookbook, Charles Perry, 2020.
  • Seven Centuries of English Cooking, Maxime de la Falaise, 1973.
  • Take a Thousand Eggs or More, Cindy Renfrow, 1997.  There two volumes; the first contains medieval recipes with modern redactions, the second does not have redacted recipes.  The contents come, more or less, from a collection of recipes known as “Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery Books.”
  • The Accomplisht Cook, Robert May, 1685.  E-book.
  • The American History Cookbook For Students, Mark H. Zanger, 2003.
  • The Art of Confectionary Shewing the Various Methods of Preserving all Sorts of Fruits, Dry and Liquid, Edward Lambert, 1761. E-book.
  • The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, Hannah Glasse, 1745 and revised with additions in 1796.  My copy is a 1994 reprint of the 1796 edition.
  • The Book of Sent Sovi: Medieval Recipes from Catalonia. Edited by Joan Santanach
  • The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened, Kenelme Digby, 1669. This is a reprint of a 1910 edition.
  • The Compleat Cook, W. M., 1658.  E-book.
  • The Constance Spry Cookery Book, Constance Spry, 1956.
  • The Curry Cook’s Assistant, Daniel Santiagoe, 1887.  E-book.
  • The English Hus-wife…, Gervase Markham, 1615. Edited by Michael R. Best in 1994.
  • The First American Cookbook: A Facsimile of “American Cookery” 1796 by Amelia Simmons, 1958.  See “American Cookery” above, it’s a repeat of that.
  • The Forme of Cury: A Roll of Ancient English Cookery Compiled about AD 1390, Master-Cooks of King Richard II, Translated by Samuel Pegg circa 1780.  E-book.
  • The French Cook, Francoise Pierre La Varenne, 1653. This is a modern copy of the first English edition as translated by I.D.G (whoever that is) in 1653, with an introduction by Philip and Mary Hyman.  Since this book by La Varenne is included in Scully’s La Varenne’s Cookery, I’ve thought of getting rid of it but I’ve kept it because they are different translations.
  • The Goodman of Paris (Le Menagier de Paris), translated by Eileen Powers.  This is a translation of a 1393 manuscript.  It is not all about food but it does have a section on cookery.
  • The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy, Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban, and Silvano Serventi, 1998.
  • The Most Excellent Book of Cookery: An edition and translation of the sixteenth-century Livre fort excellent de Cuysine, Timothy J. Tomasick & Ken Albala, 2014.
  • The Neapolitan Recipe Collection: Cuoco Napoletano, English translation of the 15th century manuscript done by Terrence Scully.
  • The Perfect Hostess Cook Book, Mildred O Knopf, 1955.
  • The Opera of Bartolomeo Scappi (1570): l’arte et prudenza d’un maestro cuoco, translated by Terrence Scully.
  • The Queen-Like Closet or Rich Cabinet, Hannah Wolley, 2nd edition 1672. E-book
  • The Suffrage Cook Book, complied by Mrs. L.O. Kleber, 1915.  E-book.
  • The Sultan’s Feast: A Fifteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook, Ibn Mubarak Shah, 2021.
  • The Viandier of Taillevent: An Edition of All Extant Manuscripts, Terrence Scully, 1988.
  • The Virginia Housewife or Methodical Cook, Mary Randolph, 1860. This copy of a facsimile of the original edition.
  • The Whitehouse Cookbook, FL Gillette, and Hugo Ziemann, 1887.  E-book.
  • To the King’s Taste, Lorna J. Sass, 1975.  The content of this book comes mainly from Forme of Cury, 14th century.
  • Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook, Nawal Nasrallah, 2020.
  • What Mrs. Fisher Knows about Old Southern Cooking, Abby Fisher, 1881. E-book.