Search Results: COOKING from Downtown Brown Books, ABAA

Mexico: Libros y Revistas, 1944. Later printing. Pamphlet. Very good. Fifty-eight cocktails and ninety-two recipes for hors d'oeuvres, named and identified by number. The cocktails are mostly based on European spirits-gin, cognac, whisky-but in unusual combinations. The champagne cocktail (no. 101) combines champagne, 8 drops of nocino (licor de nueces verdes), Cointreau, lemon peel, a pinch of nutmeg, and a whole egg. The Manhattan Cocktail (no. 125) has a connection to Jerry Thomas's recipe, but not in the standard proportions as it combines equal parts vermouth, whisky, and curacao over crushed ice. There are at least two tequila cocktails, the Tequila Cocktail (no. 141), combining tequila, grenadine, lemon juice and "ajenjo", which means wormwood and may be absinthe. The second, the Pancho Villa, is tequila, vermouth, sugar, and vainilla. A few of the hors d'oeuvres use Mexican ingredients, like chiles and avocados, but many use canned goods or basic ingredients available anywhere. 80 pages.… Read More

France, 1920. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. One of the more curious Prohibition-era cocktail books, eight recipes illustrated with attractive color-printed cocktail napkins mounted on the facing page. The cocktails are the Manhattan, Blue Blazer, Deadwood Duck, Rip Van Winkle Sleeper, Belmont Park, Alabama, Barbary Coast, and the New Orleans Drip. The recipes all call for "non-alcoholic" spirits (dating this to Prohibition) and can be rather odd. For example, the Barbary Coast Cocktail is usually whiskey, gin, creme de cacao, and cream. The version here is actually a Singapore (or Gin) Sling: 1/2 Holland Dry (non-alcoholic) 1/2 Cherry Brandy Flavor 4 Dashes Lemon Juice 4 Dashes Grenadine (non-alcoholic) More strangeness: The supposedly "wellknown" Belmont Park is basically a flat Chicago Fizz (gin, egg, port, hold the soda ). The Blue Blazer, a cocktail made by tossing flaming whiskey through the air, is credited to one "Bill Murphy" in the Gay 90s, some 30 years after the instructions… Read More

Chicago: Wahl Institute, 1944. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. A reference book from one of the leading beer researchers and educators in the first half of the twentieth century. This volume covers barley, malt, malting, malting adjuncts, hops, and technical materials. 623 pages. First edition (first printing). A very good or better copy in thin leatherette boards. No dust jacket, possibly as issued. This copy belonged to William F. Blitz, an executive of the Portland brewery, Blitz-Weinhard.

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1943. Ephemera. Very good. One of the classic food-related posters of the Second World War, encouraging home canning to preserve food for the winter. 16 by 22-1/2 inches. OWI Poster No. 77; O-533993. Old folds, as issued; beginning to split along one fold. This is an original World War Two poster, not a reproduction. Ships flat.

[Washington, DC?]: [U.S. Government Printing Office?], 1942. Ephemera. Fine. A poster announcing the beginning of rationing during the Second World War, accompanied by a notice that consumers will need to report how much canned and bottled goods they have in their pantries. The poster concludes with the admonition, "Do not buy more than you need." (The short-term shortages at the beginning of the Covid shutdown in 2020 suggest the potential for economic disruption during the war). Rationing and consumer price controls were key homefront efforts to manage the US economy. 14 by 20 inches. A fine example; never folded. Ships flat. This is an original World War II poster, not a reproduction.

San Francisco: Arion Press, 1975. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. The second book from Arion Press, printed excerpts from Robert Grabhorn's (of the Grabhorn Press) collection of short texts on cooking, that is to say, a "commonplace book." With an introduction by M. F. K. Fisher. Printed by Andrew Hoyem, whose Arion Press continues to set the American standard for fine printing, in an edition of 425 copies, as an homage to the man who taught him printing. Printed in three colors on English Inveresk cream mould-made paper. 175 pages. 6 by 9-1/2 inches. First edition. A near fine copy bound in blue cloth and printed paper-covered boards. Small nick to spine label, edges slightly grubby; slightly fusty.

Holguín, Cuba: Casa Editora Cuadernos Papiro, 2014. Ephemera. 11 sheets, 6-3/4 by 11-3/4 inches, in a 12-1/2 by 11 inches. Published in an edition of 100 copies. Each sheet offers a traditional Cuban recipe printed letterpress on handmade paper. The recipes are inserted into a shaped folder reminiscent of a basket with a thick string handle, a mounted sun design, and an attached cloth napkin. The recipes include chatinos de platano verde (plantain chips), tamal en hojas (tamales), and matajíbaro (a plantain-and-pork dumpling). OCLC: EEM FQG FXG IQU NAM NDD NOC NUI STF TXJ VWM (for the 2014 edition; there is also a 2018 version). Near fine.

Newark, NJ: The Wildside Press, 1992. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. A collection of recipes submitted by science fiction and fantasy authors, including Anthony Boucher, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Harlan Ellison, Frank Herbert (Beef in Oyster Sauce), Ursula Le Guin, and many others. This is one of 250 copies signed by McCaffrey on a tipped in bookplate. 204 pages. First edition (first printing). A near fine copy (a bit of soiling to the white covers). Number 202 of 250 signed by McCaffrey.

London: Peter Davies, 1926. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. The second ediiton of this reprint of Cobbett's 1820s book on home economy with Chesterton's introduction. With a plate from the original redesigned by Eric Gill. xi, 220 pages. A very good to near fine copy in a very good dust jacket with light chipping to the edges of the jacket and several tears. The jacket has a three shillings & sixpence price slip pasted to the front panel of the jacket.

Yokohama: (the author / Tokyo Insatsu Kabushiki Kaisha Yokohama Bunsha), 1900. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. A privately printed version of the diary kept by Otani Kahyoe, the president of the Japan Central Tea Traders' Association. "Mr. Otani visited America and Europe in 1899-1900, when he represented both the Tokyo and Yokohama Chambers of Commerce at the Philadelphia Commercial Convention" (William Harrison Ukers, All About Tea, vol. 2, p. 224). The book provides brief day-by-day accounts of his travels, the scenery, business meetings and dinners he attended, with regular mentions (without much description) of tea shops and tea merchants he visited along the way. Otani was a merchant in Yokohama and worked as "a buyer for Smith, Baker and Co., one of the large Western merchant houses active in the city. Apparently with financial backing from this firm, he became an export merchant himself in 1868, and he rose to become the leading figure in the Yokohama tea export trade by 1890"-Edward… Read More

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1907. Hardcover. Very good. The author imagines a remarkable dinner party in the American colonies just before the American Revolution. Red cloth with spine label; frontispiece illustration; 77 pages. Typography by Bruce Rogers. One of 550 copies. First edition (first printing). A very good copy with some nicks to the edges.

[Scottsdale, AZ?]: Apocrypha Press, 1997. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Fritz Scholder (1937-2005), an important American figurative painter, is best known for his expressionistic portraits of Native Americans (he was an enrolled member of the Luiseño tribe). But his artistic practice was not limited to the visual arts. For a brief period, following a collaborative project with Leonard Baskin in 1994, Scholder produced five artist's books as the Apocrypha Press. This is the third of the little-known book series from Scholder. He conceived of the book and arranged for its printing by letterpress and handbinding. The text consists of a short epigraph or perhaps a poem by Scholder on food and drink, followed by eleven recipes: Duchess's Hemp Dressing, Lemon Steak, Stone Chicken, Flaming Fish, One-Two-Three Margarita (The way it was intended), Sangrita (Widow's Blood) chaser for a margarita, Orange Fool, Mead, Chess Pie, Duchess's Gruel, and Witches Foam. A few of the recipes have credited sources,… Read More

London: R. and J. Dodsley, 1758. First Edition. Leather bound. Very good. An important work helping to establish the science of brewing, particularly through the use of the thermometer. Combrune was a professional brewer and a proponent of consistency in production. The vignette on the title page depicts an eagle carrying a thermometer over a barley field. "I know very well, that good beer was made before the Thermometer was known, and still is, by many, who are entirely ignorant of it, as if it had never been invented: but this is always by chance; and they cannot but confess they frequently fail; whereas, did they but properly apply this instrument, they certainly never would (p. 71)." For brewers without access to a thermometer, Combrune provides formulas for combining boiling water with cold water in proportion to achieve an estimated temperature (p. 64). He also makes a case for beer over wine, "Physicians have given it as their opinion, that strong drinks from Malt are less pernicious than… Read More

Edinburgh, Scotland: J. Ruthven & Son, 1823. First Edition. Pamphlet. Very good. A scarce instruction manual for a saccharometer, a scientific instrument used to measure the sugar content of a liquid, typically used in brewing. In addition to the instructions, this pamphlet includes two tables for calibrating the device at various temperatures and for interpreting the results. In the early 19th century, Dr. Thomson invented an improved method of determining sugar content during the brewing process. He licenced the invention to the instrument maker Alexander Allan. It was a great improvement over previous devices, in part because it included a thermometer and could be used at a wide range of temperatures. By measuring the sugar content of the wort (the liquid produced from grain that is then fermented to make beer), the alcohol content of the finished product can be estimated with good accuracy. Beginning in 1805, Scottish Excise used Allan's Saccharometer as the basis for collecting taxes on all… Read More

Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1945. Ephemera. Near fine. A 12-by-18-inch "window emblem" poster from the federal effort during the Second World War to keep inflation in check. Text reads, "We charge only ceiling prices or less / We post ceiling price lists prominently / We welcome questions about our prices." This poster was intended for distribution to participating retail grocery stores that agreed to abide by published prices for commodities in short supply due to the war effort. The illustration for this poster shows Uncle Sam with his arms around the shoulders of a male merchant and a female customer. This is an original World War II poster, not a reproduction. A near fine copy with light creasing. Folded, as issued. SHIPS FOLDED.

Washington DC: United States Office of Price Administration, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1944. Ephemera. Very good. A Second World War homefront poster encouraging Americans to participate in price-control efforts in order to keep inflation under control. The main graphic shows two women reaching for their baskets of groceries. The woman from 1918-the First World War-finds the basket out of reach. The "modern" 1944 woman can easily place her hands on food. According to the legend, these two scenarios are both based on the 53rd month of the war. Somewhat problematic, from a statistical point of view, is that in both cases the time period is based on the start of the wars in Europe; the US joined much later. However, this actually tends to understate the effectiveness of the management of the US economy during the Second World War, which was less after three years than that experienced in the first war after one year. The full text reads (ellipses in the original): Here's a war job all America… Read More

New York: Harper, 2017. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. An acclaimed memoir that "explores what it means to be overweight in a time when the bigger you are, the less you are seen." First edition (first printing, with a numberline ending in 1). A fine, tight copy in a fine dust jacket. Signed by Gay on the title page. Uncommon signed. This copy comes from the Parnassus Books first edition club, with their short introduction sheet laid in. Intro sheet a bit bent along one edge (it is bigger than the book and does not fit neatly inside).

[Washington, DC]: Distributed by O.W.I. [Office of War Information] for the Office of Economic Stabilization, 1944. Ephemera. Very good. A rather fierce-looking poster encouraging women to participate in the federal efforts to control inflation driven by shortages during the Second World War. An illustration of a woman wearing an apron, her teeth and fist clenched dominate the poster. Below the image are a list of seven key actions: buy war bonds; pay taxes; get life insurance; reduce debt; buy only what is needed; comply with rationing; and cooperate with wage stabilization efforts. 20-1/8 by 28-5/16 inches. Small piece of upper left corner missing, short tears at the folds, thus very good. Folded for mailing, as issued. SHIPS FOLDED. This is an original World War II poster, not a reproduction.

Istanbul: Saye-i Sahane-i Humayûn, 1844. First Edition. The first edition of the first Turkish cookbook, which was the foundation of Turkish cuisine through (at least) nine 19th century editions. Türabi Efendi's Turkish Cookery Book, which had two 19th century editions, was a translation that didn't credit Kamil's book. Kamil provides the first printed recipes for well-known Turkish dishes like kebabs, kofte, dolmas, pulao rice, and baklava. A number of the recipes call for tomatoes, which were still relatively uncommon in European cuisine. The author was on the medical school faculty in Istanbul. The book is lithographed from a manuscript written in Ottoman Turkish written with the Arabic alphabet. There is a printed gloss in the margins of many pages, in the style of Arabic manuscripts of the era. The colophon concludes (in English translation), "completed and printed in the shadow of HMS [Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid I], in the year 1260 [i.e. AD 1844], in the last days of Sha'ban month." 2-132… Read More

Méjico [Mexico City]: Imprenta de J. Lara, 1846. First Edition. Trade paperback. Good. This agricultural and industrial report covers many topics, including silk, paper, wax, ceramics, cacao, and other crops and natural resources. It also includes a relatively early mention of mezcal (mescal), which is described as an important product in many parts, especially in Jalisco and the Tequila region. José María Castaños's Hacienda de Pugo is identified as the best equipped sugar refinery in the country for both refined sugar and for aguardiente (rum) production. 77 pages plus six large, foldout broadside tables of statistics which are classic examples of mid-19th century Mexican typography, with intricate, decorated borders printed from lead type. Very good in original printed yellow wrappers, with a couple of inches of loss to the spine ends. The fold-out plates are generally very good; a few with tears at the point of attachment.