English Housewify, Exemplified in above four hundred and fifty receits, giving directions in most parts of cookery; ... With cuts for the orderly placing the dishes and courses. The second edition, corrected. Printed by James Lister and sold by the author, Elisabeth Moxon at Pontefract [c.1743].
[ESTC T201493; Maclean pp.104-106; Oxford p.78; cf. Cagle 888]
VERY RARE! ESTC records only 2 copies (Leeds and Alexander Turnbull) of this imprint. ESTC also records another imprint which is similarly scarce
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Elizabeth Moxon was an English writer known for her influential cookery book, English Housewifry. She has been called one of "the female pioneers of English culinary writing".
This culinary manual encompasses a wide range of topics, offering guidance on different cooking techniques and recipes. With four hundred and fifty recipes, it covers diverse areas of cookery, making it a valuable resource for housewives and cooks of the time. The book's contents include recipes for dishes, desserts, preserves, and beverages, among other culinary creations.
The text is accompanied by cuts, or illustrations, which aid in the visual representation and organisation of the dishes and courses bound in at the rear of the volume. These visual aids help readers understand the proper arrangement and presentation of the meals they prepare.
By presenting a wealth of recipes and instructions, Elisabeth Moxon's English Housewifery aims to equip its readers with the necessary knowledge and skills to excel in the art of cooking. It serves as a practical guide for individuals seeking to expand their culinary repertoire and create delicious and well-organised meals. Though some of the meals are nowadays a bit less than appetising...
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Condition:
Spine with leather dry and would benefit with the application of a leather conditioner. Boards with some small areas of loss to the leather and some edge wear and rubbing across the joints. Joints are all secure and uncracked with both boards securely attached. Wear to corners with deformation. Scratches to rear board, relatively parallel to each other. Binding appears to probably be original to publication, or very close to publication and almost certainly before 1749 given an ink ownership inscription to front free endpaper dated 1749 from 'Mary', maybe the original purchaser directly from the author at Pontefract. Bookplate to front pastedown of A. Harrison Middleham and with a few other ownership inscriptions present. Slight warping to the binding but without shelf lean. Text block toned throughout with some sporadic and fairly minor stains occasionally obscuring a few letters of text with the vast majority of the text block fully legible. Occasional few edge chips to some leaves with pp.73-74 with some loss to text at edge. Leaf 105-106 (K5) torn lacking about 2/3rds of the leaf. A nail has been placed through pp.107-108 probably as a page marker. Several leaves are ripped but without loss to text. With 6 of the 8 plates at the rear (3 leaves of 4), lacking the leaf with the foldout. One plate leaf torn without loss and another torn lacking the upper portion. The book appears otherwise complete. I do always find it rather remarkable that cookbooks from nearly 300 years ago survive in any resemblance of good condition given how quickly a modern one gains stains, tears, etc!
