THE KANSAS HOME COOK-BOOK: Consisting of Recipes Contributed by Ladies of Leavenworth and Other Cities and Towns. Published by the Board of Managers for the Benefit of the Home of the Friendless

Cushing, Mrs. C.H. and Mrs. B. Gray (Compilers)

Published by Crew & Bro, Leavenworth, 1888

Fifth Edition, Thirteenth Thousand. Octavo: 317 p. with advertisements at the front and rear. The original black cloth binding has been recased with the original spine laid down and some restoration to the gilt titles on the front panel. Holographic recipes ("Graham Pudding" and "Coffee Ice", for example) appear on several of the blank leaves inserted periodically within the text. Mild toning and occasional staining to the contents, with negligible creasing to the top corner of a small number of leaves. The boards are a bit rubbed along the extremities. Brown 1086. First published in 1874, and long believed to be the first cookbook published in Kansas, The Kansas Home Cook-Book was actually the second: it followed The Ladies Floral Calendar and Household Receipt Book (Lawrence, 1868). Both were part of what food historian Janice Bluestein Longone calls "the trickle of early books published in the 1860s and 1870s [that] quickly became a flood that continues into our own time, as thousands of charitable cookbooks have been produced to benefit every conceivable cause in the United States." The cause in this case was the Home for the Friendless, established in Leavenworth in 1868 by the Leavenworth Refuge Association to rescue the inmates of houses of ill fame, as its mission was delicately described. When the association's mission was broadened to include needy and abandoned women of all backgrounds, its name was changed to the Association for Friendless Women and a state grant obtained for building a home, which opened on land donated by the city in 1872. The cookbook seems to have been assembled quickly - the first published solicitation for recipes from the Publishing Committee is dated July 16, 1874; six weeks later, the Leavenworth Times reported it was "just out" with 1,000 recipes on 300 pages. It also seems to have been a solid success; the Junction City Union of December 5, 1874 reported that the first edition was sold out and a second edition was in the works. "The recipes have been furnished by Kansas and Missouri ladies, having their names attached, this alone being sufficient guarantee of its worth," as one newspaper ad for the book noted. Like many similar publications, the Home Cook-Book includes not only recipes, menu suggestions, and hints to entertainers for successful Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners, but also provides tips on how to get rid of bedbugs and fleas, how to dye fabric, how to make canaries sing, and how to treat dysentery. Seller Inventory # 76541

Bibliographic Details

Title: THE KANSAS HOME COOK-BOOK: Consisting of ...
Publisher: Crew & Bro, Leavenworth
Publication Date: 1888
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Good
Edition: 1st Edition