Notes on American Confectionery (The Library of Congress "Duplicate" Copy)

The exceedingly scarce 1891 1st edition, with no other copies currently on the market and no copies having ever reached the mainstream auction world, according to this bookseller's research. Furthermore, this specific copy is awash in history, having been de-accessioned from the Library of Congress, by every indication shortly after its publication. There are 3 vintage "Library of Congress" stamps at the title page, 2 in ink, 1 in blind. There's also an original Library of Congress "Copyright Deposit" slip (an order form) AND an additional Library of Congress bookplate, both affixed to the front pastedown. And finally, at the front free endpaper, another stamp along its top-edge stating: "The Library of Congress DUPLICATE". In other words, this copy, it would appear, was de-accessioned at or around the time of publication (1891) and legitimately entered the marketplace. Happily, this copy has held up very nicely to boot: bright, solid and VG+ in its dark-green bevelled boards, with decorative blindstamping and bright gilt-titling at the front panel. 12mo, wonderful endsheets and confection-related ads touching on the central themes of this book, candy-making and ice cream-making. In fact, we've so far only been able to locate one book on candy-making published in America earlier than this 1891 imprint, Mrs. Sara T. Rorer's 1889 book, also published out of Philadelphia, called "Home Candy Making".