Five Hundred New Receipts in Cookery, confectionary, pastry, preserving, conserving, pickling; and the several branches of these arts necessary to be known by all good housewives.

London: Printed for Tho. Asley, at the Rose against the North Door of St. Paul's, 1734.

Octavo (20 x 12.5 cm.), iv, 249, [9] pages. Index. Publisher's advertisements at rear. FIRST EDITION. The last of the "court cookery" books, addressed to chefs of noble houses. The recipes are drawn it is claimed, largely from those of John Middleton, "Cook to his Grace the late Duke of Bolton. Revised and recommended by Mr. Henry Howard." In his own earlier published works, Howard describes himself as, "Free cook of London and Late Cook of his Grace the Duke of Ormond, and since to the Earl of Salisbury, and Earl of Winchelsea" (see Maclean). Maclean traces a number of the recipes back to earlier works published solely by Howard (ibid), so the authorship remains cloudy. One thing is clear tough, as the last of the court books, Five Hundred New Receipts is a lovely production, sharply printed in large type on thick rag paper. Maclean notes that the title page, illustrated with a large woodcut of a rose, the symbol of the printer Thomas Astley, is her "favorite... among all those of the eighteenth century." In her magnificent historical survey of cookbooks of the period, Gilly Lehman positions Five Hundred New Receipts on the cusp between "between chefs writing for noble patrons and their cooks, and women writing for housewives" (The British Housewife, page 101). While the work lacks any introductory material, it begins with the classic Terms of Art for Carving. Very clean throughout; text block edges speckled red. In full natural calf, professionally re-backed with spine laid down; dark brown morocco label, gilt-titled. Original paneled boards, with blind tooled ornaments. Very good or better, and quite handsome. [OCLC records fifteen copies; Bitting, page 324; Cagle 673; Maclean, page 101; ESTC T91234].

Price: $2,000.00

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