OP: Le Grand Livre de Cuisine
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Ernest Flammarion, 1929. Hardcover. Very Good. First printing.
Prosper Montagné (1865–1948) was among the most renowned chefs of France’s Belle Epoque. While his name may not be as familiar as, say, that of his contemporary Auguste Escoffier, his most famous work, Larousse Gastronomique (1938), probably is.
Before Larousse, however, Montagné had already written another book of impressive authority, Le Grand Livre de La Cuisine (1929), which was itself an expansion on his earlier Le Grande Cuisines Illustree (1900).
At nearly 1500 pages, this massive book (9” x 11” x 3.5”) is clearly meant for professionals, the recipes both brief and assumptive of experience. Indispensable, no doubt, to those working in high-end hotels and restaurants and in need of a reminder of how to prepare every classical French dish in existence.
Our copy, an apparent first printing, seems to have been previously rebacked and given new endpapers. The tan clothbound case shows some soiling, rubbing, and general wear, most notably around the corners. The interior is pleasantly clean and crisp. Very Good overall. In French. Acquired from the Sontheimer Foundation Library. Carl Sontheimer (1914–1998) invented the original Cuisinart food processor.