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Historic Cookbooks

Historic Cookbooks

One of my talks, "Cooking by the Book," features a number of historical cookbooks, many of which are unknown to modern readers and cooks. I've decided to share a few select favorites here. All of the below links go directly to the full text of the original. 
  • American Cookery by Amelia Simmons (1798)
  • A Treatise on the Adulteration of Food by Frederick Accum (1820)
  • The Virginia House-Wife; or The Methodical Cook by Mary Randolph (1824)
  • American Frugal Housewife by Lydia Maria Child (1829, 1832, 1838)
  • The Kentucky Housewife by Lettice Bryan (1839)
  • The Good Housekeeper by Sarah Josepha Hale (1839)
  • Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt Book by Catharine Beecher (1842) 
  • The New England Economical Housekeeper and Family Receipt Book by Esther Howland (1845)
  • House and Home; Or, The Carolina Housewife by Sarah Rutledge (1847, 1855)
  • The Great Western Table Book; or, Table Receipts, Adapted to Western Housewifery by Anna Maria Collins (1851)
  • The Appledore Cookbook by Maria Parloa (1872, 1881)
  • Camp Cookery: How to Live In Camp by Maria Parloa (1878)
  • Miss Parloa's New Cook Book by Maria Parloa (1882)
  • Mrs. Lincoln's Boston cook book : what to do and what not to do in cooking by Mary J. Lincoln (1884)
  • New salads for dinners, luncheons, suppers and receptions by Sarah Tyson Rorer (1897)
  • Mrs. Rorer's new cook book : a manual of housekeeping by Sarah Tyson Rorer (1902)
  • The Boston Cooking School Cook-Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer (1896)
  • more to come!​

Cookbook Libraries, Archives, and Other Holding Institutions

The following digital archives and repositories are presented in no particular order:

Cookbook collection, Chapin Library, Williams College. Read the intro to the collection.

Manuscript Cookbooks Survey

Szathmary Culinary Manuscripts and Cookbooks, University of Iowa Library
​
Szathmary Recipe Pamphlet Digital Collection, University of Iowa Library. 


Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850-1920, Duke University Libraries
- - - Nicole Di Bona Peterson Collection of Advertising Cookbooks, Duke University Library

Doris S. Kirschner Cookbook Collection, University of Minnesota

Service Through Sponge Cake, a collaboration between University of Indiana Library and Indianapolis Public Library

Historical Cookbooks, Texas Tech University Library

HISTORY OF FOOD & DRINK COLLECTION RARE BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS, Virginia Tech

Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project, Michigan State University Library

What America Ate: Preserving America's Culinary History from the Great Depression


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  • Home
  • About
    • Contact >
      • Media Requests
      • Submissions
    • In the Media
    • Speaking Engagements
    • Leave a Tip
  • Projects
    • Blog
    • Book
    • Historical Supper Club
    • Newsletter
    • Food History Happy Hour
    • Book Reviews
    • Podcast
  • Resources
    • Food Historian Bookshop
    • Recorded Talks
    • Historic Cookbooks
    • Bibliography
    • Food Exhibits
    • TV and Film
    • Food Historian Library
    • Digital Downloads
  • Events
  • Members
    • Join
    • Patreon
    • Members-Only Blog
    • Vintage Cookbooks
    • Manuscript
    • Thesis
    • Other Publications