One folding engraved plate. xxxii, 116 pp. 8vo, cont. red morocco-backed paste-paper boards, flat spine nicely gilt. Paris: Patris, 1810.

First edition. One of the great achievements of the 19th century in respect to food was the successful development of canning. The pioneer in this field was the Frenchman, Nicolas Appert (1750-1841).

In Appert’s process the foodstuff was placed in clean bottles, well corked, and subsequently the bottles were raised to the boiling-point of water. In this way the most perishable material could be kept unchanged for a long time. With this method Appert demonstrated practically the process of pasteurization, nearly fifty... More

Engraved frontis. & three engraved plates. 266 pp. 12mo, cont. pale brown calf (joints with tiny cracks), sides decorated with a frame of gilt flower stamps, spine gilt with stamps of fans, people, & other motifs, a.e.g. Paris: Giguet & Michaud, 1805.

“Quatrième Édition, corrigée et augmentée.” A very pretty copy of this celebrated poem on gastronomy which went through a number of editions. The charming frontispiece, drawn by Myris and engraved by Delignon, depicts a party of libertines at the table. The other three plates, drawn by Myris and Monsiau, depict the Roman Senate at the moment of the origin of turbot... More

Numerous woodcuts in the text. 28 unnumbered leaves (incl. the first leaf, a blank). Small 4to, early 20th-cent. calf (final leaf with short tear in blank section, carefully repaired). London: W. Stansby for J. Grismand, 1626.

A very rare book that describes the English bread-pricing regulations established in 1266, which remained in force, with modifications, for more than six centuries. As Britain’s early modern economy developed and the price of wheat fluctuated, these regulations were periodically revised and reissued by authority of the Privy Council. ESTC locates only one copy of our edition in North America.

“Bread was one of the basic nutritional elements of the medieval diet and its supply and price were of the utmost concern to local authorities. Consequently, well-defined laws were laid down to control the manufacture and sale of bread: to judge the weight, quality, and price, and also to ensure an open and constant supply. The most significant and long-lasting commercial law in medieval England was the assize of bread, which was entered into statute law sometime [1266] in the thirteenth century… More

Formal banquets, created by hochonin (chefs and carvers) for daimyo, shoguns, aristocrats, and the emperor, at which ceremonial cuisine was served in late medieval and early modern Japan, oftentimes required that the food not be eaten. “Avoiding eating was often the most polite thing to do at a formal banquet…In extreme instances, a guest might sit down to an elaborate and visually stunning banquet in which only a small number of dishes could be eaten. To know what to do in these circumstances, diners had to rely on past custom, visual cues, and a familiarity with the symbolic associations of... More

12 columns long, 8 columns wide, each column within a border, carved on both sides. Japan: late Edo.

A fine example of a wood block board, carved with 192 fortunes (96 on each side). The printed fortunes, known as tsujiura, are small pieces of paper inserted in edible crackers (senbei). The slips of paper produced from this board each measure 26 x 26 mm. after trimming. Fortune cookies were, in fact, invented in Kyoto, and the tradition of American Chinese restaurants serving fortune cookies was derived from Japanese immigrants.

Some of the fortunes include “God will help you,” “Go to Shimbashi,” “Getting Better,” “Everybody likes you,”... More

Seven engraved plates (one double-page). 1 p.l., xvii, [1], 448, 1 leaf, 6 leaves of explanatory text; 1 p.l., iv, [1], 498 pp. Two vols. 8vo, cont. tree calf (short crack at top of one joint, minor foxing), flat spines gilt with red & green morocco labels. London: T. Cadell & W. Davies, 1800.

First edition in English of Gren’s Grundriss der Chemie with additions and notes by the translator (Dr. Gruber...). Although the author had his own eclectic theory of chemistry he has followed the antiphlogistic system in this work.”–Cole 554. The text also describes glass- and ceramic-making techniques, dyeing, brewing, etc.

Gren (1760-98), founder of the Journal der Physik, Germany’s most exciting scientific journal, slowly adopted Lavoisier’s theories, which helped prepare the way for the ultimate acceptance of the Frenchman’s ideas in Germany. More

Engraved vignette on title & three folding engraved plates. 252 pp. 8vo, cont. half-vellum & boards (boards slightly soiled, two very small wormholes to title touching three letters), spine gilt, green leather lettering piece on spine, uncut. Vicenza: nella Stamperia Turra, 1784.

First edition of this uncommon book on wheat, corn, and other cereals. Harasti, a member of the Hungarian noble Haraszthy family of Buda, was a Franciscan friar who wrote many books on agriculture. He belonged to several scientific and agricultural societies in Italy, and this work was awarded a prize by the Accademia Agraria di Vicenza in 1783.

In this work, Harasti provides a complete account of wheat, corn, and other cereals suitable for growing in Italy, methods of planting and cultivation, techniques to prevent diseases from affecting the crops, when and how to harvest, and methods of preventing the harvested grains from being contaminated by fungi and rodents while in storage. There are extensive discussions of the different species of the cereals and which are the most appropriate for different regions of Italy. More

Title printed in red & black. 11 p.l., 400, [37] pp. 8vo, cont. vellum over boards (light browning & foxing). Ulm: D. Bartholomai, 1722.

First edition. Hoffmann (1660-1742), whom Hirsch calls “one of the heroes of German medicine in the 18th century,” was “a leading medical systematist of the first half of the eighteenth century...he became a highly influential teacher and practicing physician in Germany, systematizing coherently the Galenic, iatromechanical, and iatrochemical aspects of the phenomena of health and disease.”–D.S.B., VI, p. 458.

In the present work, Hoffmann offers a collection of medical and dietetic instructions developed to improve health. He provides... More

2 p.l., 46 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed marbled boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Warrington: Printed by W. Eyres, 1796.

First edition of this scarce provincial imprint. During the final four decades of the 18th century Britain experienced a number of corn harvest failures with a resulting rise in the price of wheat. The Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, the Board of Agriculture, and various private individuals advocated the adoption of the potato as a substitute for wheat, and great efforts were made to popularize the cultivation of this crop.

The writer of the present tract was no doubt inspired by a Board of Agriculture report on the culture and use of potatoes, which was published in 1795. Kirkpatrick, who lived near Wigan in Lancashire, a well-established center for potato cultivation, was not a professional nurseryman, but he grew certain plants in his garden that he offered for sale. More

Three vols. Thick 8vo, orig. marbled wrappers (wrappers with a few pale ink stains), manuscript labels pasted on spines, uncut. Paris: P.D. Pierres, 1782.

First edition of “one of the finest works upon the social life of the French people…”–Bitting, p. 280. Legrand d’Aussy (1737-1800), was appointed keeper of French manuscripts at the Bibliothèque nationale in 1795.

While Legrand originally envisioned a more comprehensive work on domestic life, he only managed to publish the sections on food. This work is filled with valuable information on food preparation, the concept and organization of a “correct” meal, dishes to be served... More

Probably Edo: “2 March 1802” & following days.

This manuscript contains menus of a series of eight ceremonial meals prepared for Chokushi and Inshi, who were imperial envoys sent to Edo annually in the end of February to the beginning of March. They were reciprocating the earlier annual visit of representatives of the shogun to the emperor who was resident in Kyoto.

These visits were highly ritualized events and the meals which they ate were extremely elaborate. This manuscript gives the menus of several breakfasts, lunches, and dinners given to the envoys which the shogun’s staff (kyooyaku) oversaw and attended. These meals were... More

Three double-page & ten full-page woodcut illus., and several woodcuts in the text. 1 p.l., 28 folding leaves, one page of colophon. 8vo, orig. blue patterned wrappers (rubbed & with a few stains), orig. block-printed title label on upper cover (label rubbed & partly defective), new stitching. Osaka: Kawachiya chobei et al., [Preface dated 1828; colophon dated 1830].

First edition of the earliest detailed Japanese description of the cultivation, harvesting, and processing of the kuzu (or kudzu) plant. Kuzu has many uses: its powder is the essential ingredient used throughout Asia for thickening sauces and making various types of desserts. It is also used in numerous... More