Rose, Giles

A Perfect School of Instructions for the Officers of the Mouth : shewing the whole art of a master of the houshold [sic], a master carver, a master butler, a master confectioner, a master cook, a master pastryman; being a work of singular use for ladies and gentlewomen and all persons whatsoever that are desirous to be acquainted with the most excellent arts of carving, cookery, pastry, preserving, and laying a cloth for grand entertainments; the like never before extant in any language; adorned with pictures curiously ingraven, displaying the whole arts / by Giles Rose, one of the master cooks in His Majesties kitchen.

London: Printed for R. Bentley and M. Magnes, 1682.

Duodecimo (15 x 9 cm.), title leaf, [22], 563 pages. Illustrated with forty-two pages of woodcuts of which a few depict table settings and the majority the carving of various fowl (capon, turkey, goose, duck, pigeon, woodcock, partridge, pheasant, etc.), veal, mutton, wild boar, pig, hare, fish, and lobster and the decorative carving of fruit. ~ FIRST & ONLY EDITION IN ENGLISH. One of the most important titles of 17th Century French gastronomy, and to some, one of the rarest cookery books in the English language. There are few recorded copies and almost all existing copies appear to be imperfect, i.e. primarily lacking pages, while this copy is complete. Bitting notes, “Despite the claim ‘The like never before extant in any language,’ the book is a translation of ‘L’Escole parfaite des officiers de bouches,’ first published in 1662. The English translation is much scarcer than the original.” Simon Gough states with insight in one of his wonderfully eccentric Food for Thought catalogues, "it is curious how few great collections of cookery books contain this volume". By way of an answer, he further declares it, "one of the rarest cookery books in the English language". In six books, (here translated): "Steward of the Family", "The Great Master Carver", "The Royal Butler", "The Royal Confectioner", "The Royal French Master Cook", and "The Royal Pastry Man". ~ Internally remarkably bright and clean. Full brown calf; original boards, attractively rebacked, and with gilt titled, red morocco spine label. Rare, especially in this condition. [OCLC locates eight copies; Bitting, page 407; Cagle 970; Pennell, My Cookery Books, page 141; Wing R1933; ESTC R30134].

Price: $9,000.00