The Whole Body of Cookery
London: R.W. for Giles Calvert, 1661.
First Edition. Hardcover (Full Leather). Fair Condition. Item #CAT000967
Contemporary leather, worn but sound, lacking pastedowns and endpapers, title present in only a fragment, moderate staining including a dampstain at the top edge near the end, loss to top of 143/144, small wormtrail in inner top margin through most of volume touching letters in a few places from page 37-61 but not really affecting sense, chipped and stained at very end. Good or better overall, besides the loss to title and 143/44. (4), 260, (3)pp. Cagle 943 (1682 3rd ed.), BG 1248 Notaker 544.
A flawed but more or less complete copy of a famously rare book of cookery. Rabisha's Whole Body of Cookery is an interesting book - reprinted in 1673 and 1682, it is broken up into four sections, the first part, 1-168, are apparently novel recipes. The second, 169-208, entirely cribbed from Robert May's book (printed by Rabisha's printer R. Wood the year before) , the third, 209-240, recipes for preserving and conserving pulled mostly from A Closet for Ladies and Gentlewomen (1st 1608) but also from May, the fourth section is from the Boke of Kervynge (1508). It ends with a feast menu from 1486. A delightful tangle of recipes. "A made dish of parmyzant", "A Sallet of Fennel", "To Boyl Perches", "To Roast Eels", "To Marrinate a Carp, to be eaten hot or cold", "To make an ox cheek pie" and much more. Published 10 years after La Varenne's Cuisinier Françpois across the channel, it showed that England,. at least, was in no hurry to jettison medieval techniques and recipes.
Provenance: E&L Amrory (later but old signature inside cover). John Lawless "his book" contemporary signature at end of preface. Size: 8vo. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Cooking, Wine & Dining; Inventory No: CAT000967.
Price: $2,500.00