Today, for your viewing pleasure, I present The American Woman's Cook Book, first published in 1938, this edition 1941, I think it belonged to my grandmother.Endpapers to die for
Table of Contents
The book has those little cut-out semicircles to find sections (like in some bibles) which my daughter thought were "creepy" for some reason! It's over 800 pages long, and very heavy. It has thousands of recipes plus instructions for holding a dinner party, packing your child's lunch, preparing meats, food for invalids, and even "high altitude cooking". I love old cookbooks which show correct place settings for various occasions:
I love the captions on the photographs.
Found in the book were some slips of paper, one I think in my Gran's handwriting, and a little menu from an old restaurant, used as a bookmark 
Mother's Cellar (a must for tourists!) in King Cross.
Inside it advises "Take her to "Mother's" ". (These days you wouldn't, because King's Cross is best known as a red-light district!) This menu must date from post-1966 when decimal currency was introduced in Australia.
After browsing through this cookbook I am tempted to try all kinds of pies and other dishes ... one day!
I leave you with this feast -
Check out more vintage goodness here.
15 comments:
I really love looking through these great old cookbooks. This is a gem...
cool! I bet that book would've been the perfect housekeeper's handbook :-)
That is a superb cookbook...i'd love to find something similar as I go to various thrift shops.
Great cookbook. I have a couple old cookbooks, but any time I try to follow a recipie from one it never turns out right. I am not quite sure why. However, I have them out on display because they are so much fun to look at. Thanks for sharing!
I love it. very nice, and in good condition. My Betty Crocker cookbook is from the early 60's and it's so stained and cruddy from over use.
I have a cookbook that my mom used when I was little and it has all the diagrams for table settings too. That always fascinated me. Have you made anything from this cookbook? I would totally make those apple-filled flapjacks!
I so enjoy looking at old cookbooks. I love the pictures, and most of the time I will find a new recipe (rather old) recipe to try. Great cookbook.
What a priceless gem you've got there, Fiona...thanks also for showing us the contents..AB FAB!! xx
What a great cookbook! I think it's so funny that the cutouts are "creepy."
How often do you suppose women set a table that way?
Aw, I have this cookbook too! It is fab. The "Mother's Cellar" paper is great!
I have the American Woman Cookbook too! I love the color photos. They food is soooo pretty!
Blessings
Linda
What a fantastic book... true treasure. And "soup accessories" - now I AM curious! Yum.
What a fun cookbook! I love all of the old pictures.
OH! You lucky duck! My mom had cookbooks like yours that literally fell apart from use. What a find, in such lovely condition!
I love old cookbooks! I laugh about some of the funnier ones on my blog (like "The New Joys of Jello"), but I have some of my great-grandma's cookbooks and I enjoy looking at them. It's so cool how yours shows the proper place settings too, that's becoming a lost art. Great post.
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