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215 x 135 mm. (8 1/2 x 5 1/4"). xxiv, 314 pp., [12] leaves (index, final blank). Contemporary sheep, flat spine divided into panels with gilt rules, red morocco label lettered in gilt, rebacked (retaining original backstrip). Twelve engraved plates depicting dishes for each month of the year. Front pastedown with early ink ownership inscription of Ann Stocking. Bitting, p. 328; Cagle 881; Oxford, pp. 130-31. Corners rather rubbed, backstrip a bit pitted and abraded, the text with light overall browning, the Index a little thumbed and with some moderate foxing, other condition issues, but a completely sound copy with nothing approaching a fatal defect. Written by a professional cook, this book contains hundreds of recipes, providing a guide for a broad gastronomical spectrum: as the subtitle tells us, the book prepares "every article requisite for furnishing the tables of the nobleman, gentleman and tradesman." Our author, John Mollard, is identified on the title page as a "Cook, lately one of the proprietors of Freemason's Tavern," whose success, he tells us in the preface, has led him to "commit his practice to paper." The book begins with a series of engraved plates suggesting a bill of fare for each month of the year, then proceeds into the recipes, including those for a wide variety of fish, meats, vegetables, pastries, desserts, pickles, and more. The recipes are distinguished by the holiday classic Twelfth Night cake (p. 286), the first recorded mention of which is believed to have appeared in the 1801 first edition of our work. According to "British Food: a History," this special treat is a heavily spiced fruitcake eaten on the last of the 12 days of Christmas and featuring a hidden dried bean or trinket; whoever claims a slice containing this prize is crowned "King of the Bean.".
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