The Florence Cook Book. Edited by Women of Trinity Guild of Trinity Parish. Second Edition.
Florence, Ala. [The Church], 1931.
Octavo (22.5 x 14.5 cm.), [x], 151, [xxix] pages. Advertisements. Table of contents. Stated Second Edition (likely a corrected printing of the first edition). An evidently well-received collection of nine hundred recipes, following closely upon the first edition of only two years previous (with the same 151 pages). Southern favorites stand in relief: Southern Egg Bread, Okra Gumbo, Bishop Whipple Pudding, Ambrosia, Owendaw, Asparagus Loaf, Blackeye Peas, Elder Blossom Wine, Creole Pralines. But it would be misleading to truncate the story there, for the Women of Trinity Guild could venture out as eagerly as their counterparts elsewhere, from Almond Bisque and Lobster Canapes to Queen of Trifles and Banberry [sic] Tarts. Marginalia on page 110 comments on the Sponge Cake (fine), “…grand but a lot of work”. For more local color, an advertisement on the rear of wrappers is for “Dowdy’s Pit Bar-B-Q, Fish-Chili, Lee Highway.” ~ Florence is a well-known constituent municipality of The Shoals in Alabama’s northwestern corner, the birthplace of W. C. Handy (and by extension, it is often said, the birthplace of the Blues). The seat of Lauderdale County, the city and the surrounding region had become prosperous through its abundant access to water power early in the nineteenth century. Though not the first Episcopalian congregation established in Alabama – Anglicans had already settled in Mobile and Tuscaloosa – Trinity Church, founded in 1836 and still an active community, lays claim to the title of oldest parish in the Tennessee Valley. ~ Several pages splash-stained, but text unobscured throughout. Stapled in blue wrappers, titled in black; stained and faded but nonetheless intact. Good. A lengthy gift presentation handwritten in ink on page [ix], addressed to “a bride” (as per page 48) with corresponding recommendations marking several recipes. Scarce. [OCLC locates no copies of this second edition (though one copy of the first edition and three copies of the revised (third) edition of 1943, are reported); none of these editions in Brown, Cagle, or Cather].
Price: $300.00