OP: The Y.W.C.A. Cook Book

Jacob North & Company, 1894. Flexibound. Good Plus. First printing.

This nondescript, little (7.5” x 5”, 138 pages) flexibound volume is the rare first printing of a community cookbook assembled by The Ladies of Lincoln, Nebraska. 

The recipes, each attributed to its author, are simple but wide ranging—everything from salmon croquettes, chicken salad, and three recipes for cream sweetbreads to Parker House rolls (three again), coconut cake, and green tomato pickles. 

Just as enlightening are the advertisements and household hints inserted throughout. Also, a number of blank leaves for adding one’s own recipes are included; a previous owner utilized only four to write in an elegant hand recipes for cake and icing, French tea rolls, and mayonnaise dressing. It is an appealing glimpse at life in the midwest just before the twentieth century.

Our copy is in better condition than we’ve seen from any other on the market, though the black wrappers are certainly scuffed. The binding holds tight, and the interior is clean. A previous owner’s name is penned to the first recto above an advertisement for Omaha Carpet and Rug Factory.