The Joy of Cooking.

Indianapolis/New York: Bobbs Merrill, 1946.

Thick octavo (22 x 14.5 cm.), 884 pages. The "Post-War Edition" as this 1946 printing has sometimes been called, is a second printing of the revised and enlarged 1943 "War-Time Edition". The first trade printing of the The Joy of Cooking was issued by Bobbs Merrill in 1936, following the original edition, privately published by the author and printed by Clayton of St. Louis in 1931. As described by Anne Mendelson in her masterful biography of Rombauer, Stand Facing the Stove (New York, 1996, pp. 170-172), with each successive printing of Joy, incremental changes were made and the book progressed toward becoming a national bestseller and a standard household reference. Simultaneously, Rombauer's relationship with Bobbs Merrill deteriorated. But despite that The Joy of Cooking rose to the position it holds today, that of the most popular and best-selling cookbook in American history, with nearly eighteen million copies sold to-date. It is the only cookbook to be included in the New York Public Library’s list of 150 Influential Books of the Century. A fine copy – very clean – in the gingham-patterned, light blue cloth. In a near very good dust jacket, with a bit of light edge staining to the rear panel, and some chipping to the head and foot of the spine. Overall, a much nicer copy than is usually encountered.

Price: $300.00

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