McBlain Books

Chicago: The Hotel Monthly Press, 1914. Third [and final] Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Goins, an African American, titled the 1902 first edition of his guide for waiters "The American Colored Waiter." A second edition (1908) had the same title as these third editions but was considerably shorter (154p.). Pages 157-225 in the Third edition have a separate title-page ("The American Waiter... Part 2." The added Part contains chapters on European service, parties and banquets, according to the brief Introduction to that Part. We had a few copies of this third edition in stock at the same time and noticed variations in memoranda/blank leaves and the group of advertisements at the end of this volume. We also noticed three variations in cover lettering and flexibility. The basic instructional text seemed unchanged during the 20 years or so that this third and final edition reigned as the best guide for waiters in fine establishments. We don't know whether anyone has made an effort to sort this out. We wondered b…Read more