JEWRY, Mary. Warne’s Model Cookery with Complete Instructions in Household Management: Recipes for Cooking Breakfast Dishes, Bread, Biscuits, etc. Fish and Soups. Sauces and Gravies. Poultry and Game. Made Dishes & Entrées. Vegetables. Pastry and Puddings. Soufflés and Omelets. Creams and Jellies. Custards and Cakes. Desserts and Ices. Preseves and Pickles. and Directions for Duties of Servants. Bills of Fare, etc. etc.. London: Frederick Warne and Co. [n.d., ca. 1875]
(205 x 140 mm) pp. 728 + 6 full coloured plates tipped in. Black and white illustrations further embellish the text. Bound in red publisher’s cloth with black, white, and gold decorations. A bit of bumping to end bands; joints splitting, but still very firmly bound. Overall in GOOD condition.
The binding of this late-19th century Model Cookery and Housekeeping book is unusual. While most of its peers boast “2835 Recipes and Numerous Household Instructions on the spine, this version touts “3500 Recipes and Numerous Coloured Plates.” The introduction, however, reigns the number of recipes back to 2835— however, the numbered recipes go to 2795 and follow on to configurations of fancy lunch and dinner parties. Regardless of number of recipes, this is a fascinating look in to Victorian gastronomy and the delicate dance of etiquette around it.
The recipes are a romp through the Victorian palate, with delights from eels, to haunches, to Indian dishes, and many, many desserts. A single page has been dog-eared in the book, marking recipes for mulled wines, wine whey, mulled ale, egg wine, egg flip, and family brewing. (An egg flip, by the way, is three eggs, a quarter pound of good moist sugar, and a pint and a half of beer, mixed together. Yum?)
There is no date within the book; however, a note from Cecil C. Baker to Madeline is dated March 17, 1875. The note speaks of school and their friendship, but not the book itself, so it can merely act as a suggestion for a date.
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