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Vintage cookbooks are fun, if not downright cool. The better ones are books that you'll want to read again and again, regardless of whether you've tried any of the recipes, while the worst will make you laugh at their illustrations. The best ones will give you lots of good advice, inspiration and recipes that still taste great.
The only problem with vintage cookbooks is that it can be hard to get hold of them. My own collection, which is large, was mostly acquired from my parents and grandparents. The rest are made up of books that I found at various used bookstores when browsing through their offerings. Once in a while, I'll get a specific cookbook in mind, but tracking it down can take time. That's where a store like Old Cookbooks.com can come in. They have a wealth of vintage cookbooks, from personal family collections to "ethnic" foods. In fact, theirs is one of the larger collections that I've seen. The price of the books varies by rarity and age (my 1943 Joy of Cooking is listed at $36.50), but it's still a great resource if you're looking to find a few of these older cookbooks easily.
Interestingly, Epicurious also offers a vintage book search. You can e-mail a description of the book you're looking for, and their contact will get back to you with a title, author and date of a book, as well as a price, if they have it on hand. It's a great way to look-up that book your mom always had sitting on the counter if you never knew what it was called!
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5-24-2006 @8:00PM Sir Not Appearing in this Blog said... I have that same volume of Joy. It's not one I consult frequently, but it's still neat to look at. Far more precious is a book that belonged to my wife's great-grandmother. It was a blank book, and she wrote all sorts of information. Some of the recipes are impossible to reproduce, because she writes, "Use .05 worth of cherries". How many cherries could you buy for a nickle in 1920?
I also have a mid-50s Polynesian cookbook from Trader Vic's. I haven't made a habit of collecting old cookbooks, but I'll always buy them if I find one.
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5-25-2006 @2:31AM sandi linn said... I have a cookbook written by Mrs.William Hart Boyd, copyright 1895. Title is The Queen CookBook. Anyone have any info on this? It was published by W.H.Ferguson Co. Cincinnati O.
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5-25-2006 @8:33AM ann said... hey nicole, if you're here in NYC head over to bonnie slotnick's shop at 163 w 10th (i think at 7th ave) in the west village
not only is her shop amazing, but, well, she's pretty awesome too
she's been a book editor for years, i think she most recently updated the classic Esquire's handbook for hosts
she's a great mind to pick and can track down ANYTHING for you
bonnie rules
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5-25-2006 @11:13AM Nicole Weston said... Actually, I'm in LA, but thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out when I'm in town!
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5-25-2006 @2:01PM David said... A side note on older cookbooks:
It's interesting to compare the same recipes between editions of the same book. At least with The Joy of Cooking, you can see an increase in the amount of garlic and onions in each edition.
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5-25-2006 @2:56PM Sarah said... There is a cookbook shop up here in Pasadena - the staff is not particularly friendly but it's heaven to browse in! http://www.cookbkjj.com/
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