A Short-title Catalogue of Household and Cookery Books Published in the English Tongue 1701 - 1800.

UK,Qrto HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE-.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj. Bright,crisp, clean,glossy laminated,maroon background with white decorative border illustrated front panel of the dw/dj and with white lettering,rear panel with white lettering of publisher's advert for a series of forthcoming,further historical and cookery/household-related bibliographies; with negligible shelf- wear or creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks or tears present.Though both the head+foot of the spine/backstrip are minimally bumped with reciprocal creasing - a tiny closed tear at head,near backstrip's gutter's edge.Internally to both head+foot of dw/dj, some minor bleeding/bleaching stain, also visible externally. Top+fore-edges bright and clean,bottom edge with a narrow, longitudinal fluid stain; otherwise contents are bright,tight,clean, solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation. Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain maroon cloth bds with bright,crisp, stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip,a maroon+white striped headband and immaculate plain white eps. UK,Qrto HB+dw/dj,1st edn,viii-xxivpp+2-197pp [paginated] includes acknowledgements,list of short-titles used,a list of abbreviations used for consulted libraries (UK+USA),author's introduction, arrangement of material explanation,an alphabetical [A - Y] short-title catalogue of pertinent books/titles,list of facsimiles, reprints and translations of works included in this catalogue,a select bibliography of works consulted,a chronological list of short-titles,a selective subject index,a short-title index,and along with a b/w 18thC facsimile reproduction of 4 cookery authors' portraits illustrated frntis,another 24 b/w facsimile illustrations - mainly title pages from books included in the catalogue,plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,contents list/table with illustrations list to it's reverse,and to the rear - 3 sides of pages (unused) for Notes.
Books on household affairs and cookery are increasingly recognized as deserving study by historians as well as sociologists and those concerned with the technology of food and gastronomy.
The 18thC saw the publication of a very large number of such books in Britain,and the first few publications in north America. Hitherto,there has been no systematically compiled and comprehensive catalogue og them,and many have remained 'unknown' because 'unrecorded'.The few earlier bibliographical works in the field were all based on private collections,and in addition contained errors which have remained uncorrected in reprinted editions of them.
Virginia Maclean's book,the first in a series described on the back of this jacket/ dustwrapper, remedies the situation and exposes for use by scholars and collectors a wealth of 'new' material.The book is based on exhaustive research in libraries on both sides of the Atlantic which possess important holdings in her field of study.It also provide much new or corrected information about works which are already familiar.The flavour of the 18thC works which are catalogued is well conveyed by the numerous illustrations,all of which have been taken from them and some of which are reproduced here for the first time.
From the intro: 'Having encountered some of the ways in which existing bibliographies mislead or fail to provide sufficient or accurate data for research workers the present compiler decided to compile,to the best of her ability,a working 'tool' for others doing research in the field of food,cookery,household management and also gastronomy in the eighteenth century,and that the best way of attempting to achieve this main aim was to have several secondary aims. These are: 1.Giving works or subsequent editions which have never been listed before,by using sources,such as magazines and newspapers,which previous cataloguers have ignored; 2.Correcting or amending,wherever possible,the errors of previous cataloguers and bibliographers; 3.Giving locations for the earliest known editions of all eighteenth century works in the field and (where appropriate) locations for all discoverable later editions published in the eighteenth century; 4.Giving sources for the existence of works for which locations could not be found, and the same for later editions; 5.Including under entries,whenever appropriate, 'Notes' on sources or matters of interest, such as possible or actual plagiarism,or comments on authors; 6.Ensuring,as far as possible,that every cookery book and household work in the English tongue,wherever published,was listed in the short- title catalogue.' Since April 2013 and again in March 2015,and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template, altering it's prices,weight allowances,dimensions and lowered it's qualifying compensation rates too!
So,please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight/value of this item for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!