OP: The London Art of Cookery

John Fielding, et al, London, 1783. Hardcover. Very Good. First edition.

The London Art of Cookery (1783) was an immensely popular late 18th century cookery book. John Farley, “principal cook at the London Tavern,” gets credit for the work; however, it was ghost written by printer Richard Johnson who also “wrote” a number of other housekeeping and cookbooks around the same time, all of which were almost entirely copied from Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747) and Elizabeth Raffald's The Experienced English Housekeeper (1769).

Filching from other successful sources proved fruitful for Farley, and the book saw twelve editions by the early 19th century. Unsurprisingly, though, the book does follow a familiar format with marketing advice and discussion of different cooking methods prior to the many recipes. 

Chapters include stews and hashes; ragoos; sauces; roots and vegetables; puddings; pancakes and fritters; pickling; collaring; potting; garden stuffs and fruits; confectionery in general; custards and cheesecakes; made wines, cordial waters, and malt liquors; and appendices on culinary poisons, cooking for the sick, food for seafaring people, and “general observations of the breeding of poultry.” 

Additionally, you’ll find twelve plates for monthly bills of fare.

Ours is the 1783 first edition (6 shilling price, no further edition remarks) bound in full leather with a red title label to the spine. Slight toning to the pages, otherwise clean and crisp. Faint ownership signature to title page. Small bookworm boreholes to margins, not affecting text. This copy was acquired from famed music journalist June Barsalona (née Harris) who, in turn, acquired it from her friends and antiquarian book dealers Betsy and Timothy Trace.