THE PROFESSED COOK

210 x 125 mm. (8 3/8 x 5"). xxxix, [1], 549, [1] pp.Translated by B. Clermont. Excellent retrospective 20th century half calf over marbled paper boards, smooth spine divided by gilt rolls, red morocco label lettered in gilt. Bitting, p. 92. Some soiling and thumbing to leaves (largely restricted to the often-consulted index), one closed tear into the text (without damage), other minor defects, but still quite agreeable internally--especially for a cookbook--and in an unworn well-done retrospective binding. Containing more than 2,000 recipes, this expanded English translation of a popular luxury French cookbook provides a thoroughgoing picture of gastronomy at the turn of the 19th century. First published in 1755 as "Les Soupers de la Cour" ("The Court Suppers"), the book had originally aimed to bring the food of Louis XV's court to the public, with opulent dishes such as truffles, a variety of delicate pastries, and foie gras. By the time the present edition appeared, well after the French Revolution, the focus had shifted from the allure of kingly meals to a broader offering of French and English cooking, the original recipes having been augmented with, as the title says, "the best receipts which have ever appeared in the French or English languages." While a number of dishes would have appealed to an English audience interested in sophisticated continental cuisine, there are some recipes that do not seem especially appetizing, at least to us--see, for example, Sheep's Trotters, Calf's Head, artichokes that are "glued or soldered together," and Crêtes et Rognons de Coqs (featuring rooster combs and testicles). French cookbook writer Joseph Menon (ca. 1700-71) composed several popular works in the genre, including the first French cookbook aimed specifically at women. Our first English translation, by Clermont, who identified himself in the introduction to the third edition as the clerk of the Earl of Abingdon's kitchen, was published ca. 1769. "The Professed Cook" is readily available on the market in one edition or another, but, given the use for which the book is intended, attractive copies are difficult to find. 10th Edition (first English edition in 1767).…