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A Collection of Ordinances and Regulations for the Government of the Royal Household, made in divers reigns. From King Edward III to King William and Queen Mary. Also Receipts in Ancient Cookery -

1790 - Printed for the Society of Antiquaries by John Nichols, London - First Edition
A fine example of this important collection of ordinances and regulations on the stewardship of the Royal House of England.

‘Most of these texts appear here for the first time from manuscripts preserved in various English libraries (Harleian, Cotton, the Society of Antique Dealers, Thomas Astle, etc). They form a source of first-rate information about table manners, protocol, menus, feasts, official holidays, table and cellar service, expense accounts, lists of the officers of fine dining, of the wardrobe, etc. and contain numerous pieces of information about all the products used in the royal kitchens, the grocery stores, kitchen gardens, farmyards, Crown breweries, about the composition of breakfasts, dinners, suppers and princes’ snacks, about the names, salaries and roles of the staff.

At the end of these prescriptions, pages 423 to 476 are dedicated to a ‘
Collection of Old English Recipes’, extracts from a manuscript from the Arundel Collection, kept in the Royal Society library. This manuscript dates from the 15th century but the recipes could be a lot older. It is undoubtedly the ‘Oldest Culinary Recipe Book’ in England. The spelling of the manuscript has been preserved.

This important and rare publication was carried out at the expense of the
Society of Antique Dealers in London. It is a collection of 20 texts, ordinances, edicts etc, from the 15th century to the end of the 17th century, concerning the functioning of the English Royal Household from the reign of Edward III until 1689, by way of Henry VI (1455), Prince Edward (1474), Edward IV’s Black Book of the Royal Household, the house of George Duke of Clarence in 1469, Henry VIII in 1526; Queen Elizabeth, King James in 1604, etc.’ [Oberlé] 
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Price HK$ 5,000



Modern Confectionary; Containing Receipts for Drying and Candying, Confits, Cakes, Preserves, Liqueurs, Ices, Jellies, Creams, Sponges, Pastes, Potted Meats, Pickles, Wines, Etc. Etc. Etc. By the Author of Modern Cookery - Anon

1833 - Printed by and for Henry Mozley and Sons, Derby - Second Edition
A finely bound rare early nineteenth century compilation of recipes including deserts, cakes, biscuits, pickles, relish, wines. Most likely compiled from numerous sources by Eliza Acton, who has been described as the first modern cookery writer, preceding Mrs Beeton by several years. Delia Smith has called her ‘the best writer of recipes in the English language’.

Chapters are:
Drying and Candying; Lozenges and Confits, Cakes, Biscuits, etc.; Puddings; Preserves; Sirups, Liqueurs, and Waters; Ices; Jellies; Creams, Custards, etc.; Sponges; Patties, Pastes, etc.; Potted Meats; Pickles, Catsups, etc.; Observations on British Wine. 
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Price HK$ 3,000



Chafing-Dish Dainties - Mrs. Sarah Brownson How

1896 - Self Published. Printed by E. C. Lockwood, Brooklyn - First Edition
'At once a stove and kitchen - the chief recommendation of the Chafing-dish is that it may be brought into use at a moment's notice.

A rare and delightful guide to the benefits of the chafing-dish, with numerous recipes for eggs and omelettes, caramels, corned beef, lobster, macaroni, oysters, turkey, veal and sweetbreads.

‘There are all possibilities within the chafing dish, providing there is a cordon blue, who gives herself up to the task of managing it. If the cook be a novice, Mrs. Sarah Brownson How of Brooklyn in her pretty book “Chafing Dish Dainties” will explain all the niceties and there is also to be found an extensive menu, all to be cooked with a chafing dish.’ -
New York Times, New Book Review, 1897.

Mrs. Sarah Brownson How, a New York socialite gave frequent lectures on the art of housewifery as well as the history of New York.
 
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Price HK$ 2,000



Medicina Gerocomica: Or, The Galenic Art of Preserving Old Men s Healths - Sir John Floyer, Kt. of Lichfield, M.D.

1725 - Printed for J. Isted, London - Second Edition, corrected. To which is added, A Letter to the Honble Mr. Ch--- St--- Concerning the Regimen of the Health of the Younger Years and Adult, as Galen has describ&rsquo
The present book is considered the first English work dedicated to geriatric medicine.

Floyer ‘begins his preface by saying that "
every man is a fool or becomes a physician, when he arrives at 40 or 50 years of age." Much of the book amounts to advocacy of a commonsense approach for preservation of the ageing body, with attention to fresh air, exercise, regular diet, and temperance in all things, especially alcohol and tobacco. When discussing the treatment of certain forms of ulceration he mentions that "rest and sleep and serenity of mind procure the sooner healing." He relaxes his spartan standards now that he is 74 himself and accepts that, instead of cold baths, hot water does sometimes have advantages.

Throughout his life Sir John had stressed the importance of physical exercise in promoting health. In
Medicina Gerocomica, after giving a long list of activities that he thought too strenuous for old men, he mentions that "these are gentle exercises, sailing, pruning trees, riding, bowling, billiards, nine-pins, fishing, walking." The old men that were able to follow his advice must have enjoyed their declining years.’ – D. D. Gibbs, extract from the British Medical Journal, 1969. 
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Price HK$ 8,000



The National Cookery Book - Mrs. Elizabeth D. Gillespie

1876 - Women's Centennial Executive Committee, Philadelphia - First Edition
A superb first edition of America's first "National Cookbook", covering 37 states & territories, with 950 recipes, in 27 chapters.

Chapters include all-American recipes for meals and dishes like Florida Charlotte Russe, Wisconsin Breakfast Eggs, Hominy Pancakes, Open Air Cooking (first published recipe for a clam bake), Seven Receipts from an Oneida Squaw, Indian Corn, Turkey with Plum Pudding Stuffing, Crimslech for Passover, Kichlers for Purim Night, Indian Bread with Buttermilk, St. Charles Corn Bread, etc.

National Women's Day was the 7th Nov 1876 - election day of that year and the Women's Centennial Committee raised $126,000 from the cookbook.
 
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Price HK$ 8,000



The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy - Hannah Glasse

1765 - A. Millar, London - Ninth Edition
An early edition of this classic 18th century cookbook, which ‘revolutionised the way the British cook’.

‘She's the first domestic goddess, the queen of the dinner party and the most important cookery writer to know about. No, not Isabella Beeton; not Delia Smith nor Nigella Lawson, but an earlier incarnation of a kitchen trouble-shooter, Hannah Glasse’ - Rose Prince,
The Independent (2006).

The Art of Cookery has a River Cafe Cookbook quality - in fact her excessive use of butter, which can have a lovely clear flavour, can be likened to the liberal dribbling of olive oil in Rogers' and Gray's recipes. The power of the book, though, is the clarity of the writing. She's authoritative but she is also intimate, treating you as an equal’ – Bee Wilson (food journalist and author). 
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Price HK$ 5,000



The Table: A Monthly Publication Devoted to the Refinements of the Table - January, February, March, April, May, June, July, and August. - Barry Gray (editor)

1873 - M. Doolady, New York - First Editions
All eight months of this short lived publication, ‘dedicated to an upscale audience, the magazine promised attention to the “art of good living” and published articles on public banquets and social breakfasts’. Extremely rare, and bound in their original paper wrappers. 
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Price HK$ 4,000



The House-Keeper s Pocket-Book, and Compleat Family Cook. - Sarah Harrison

1777 - for J. Rivington and Sons, London - Ninth Edition revised and corrected
A prettily bound example of this scarce early work, the title (which is transcribed in full below) gives full details of that contained therein.

With twenty pages of tables showing the rate of farthings to l.s.d.f., six pages of ‘
Tables of Interest’ showing the cost of borrowing at 3, 3.5, 4, and 5 percent, over periods ranging from one day to 12 months. Index incorrectly bound before tables.

The full title is as follows:- ‘The House-Keeper’s Pocket-Book, and Compleat Family Cook: Containing Above Twelve Hundred Curious and Uncommon Receipts in Cookery, Pastry, Preserving, Pickling, Candying, Collaring, &c. with Plain and easy Instructions for Preparing and Dressing every Thing Suitable for an Elegant Entertainment, from Two Dishes to Five or Ten, &c.
Also a copious and useful Bill of Fare, of all Manner of Provision in Season, for every Month in the Year.
Together with Directions for making all Sorts of Wine, Mead, Cyder, Shrub, Distilling Strong-Waters, &c. For Brewing Ale and Small Beer in a cleanly, frugal Manner: And for Managing and Breeding Poultry to Advantage.
Likewise several useful Family Receipts for taking out Stains, preserving Furniture, cleaning Plate, taken Iron-moulds out of Linen, &c.
As also easy Tables, of Sums ready cast up, from one Farthing to one Pound, for the Use of those not conversant in Arithmetic: And Tables shewing the Interest of Money from 3, 3 1/2, 4 and 5 per Cent. from one Day to a Year.
The Whole is so contrived as to contain mor than any Book of double the Price; and the Excellency of the Receipts renders it the most useful Book of the Kind.
The Ninth Edition, revised and corrected. To which are now added several modern Receipts, by very good Judges.
Also,
Every one their own Physician: A Collection of the most approved Receipts for the Cure of the Disorders incident to Human Bodies’

Provenance: From the world renowned culinary library of Alan Davidson, the man who spent 20 years compiling the ‘
Oxford Companion to Food’. With his bookplate. 
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Price HK$ 5,000



 
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