OP: The Compleat Housewife (1994)

Studio Editions, London, 1994. Hardcover. Near Fine. 

First published in 1727, Eliza Smith’s The Compleat Housewife is one of the great 18th century cookery books, from which those that came after “borrowed” heavily. 

This edition, a reproduction of the sixteenth edition, boasts over 600 recipes in “cookery, pastry, confectionary, preserving, pickles, cakes, creams, jellies, made wines, [and] cordials,” not to mention monthly bills of fare and 200-plus recipes for medicinal salves.

Dishes like fricasseed tripe, potted swan, pigeon bisque, and marjoram pudding (carrying the author’s note, “this is old-fashioned, and not good”) and libations like gooseberry wine, cock ale (made with ground rooster, raisins, sherry, and spices), and laudanum (wine, opium, saffron, and winter spices) make for fascinating reading and expose some archaic dishes and ingredients.

Even more revealing about life 300 years ago are the remedies and cures for everyday maladies like colic, stomach pains or “heaviness of heart” (the same antidote for both being sweetened rosewater with saffron), burns, or acne. Also addressed are more extreme issues such as tending to a mad dog bite, cancer, scurvy (licorice and sasafrass—neither of which is a source of vitamin C), and hastening childbirth (a solution of borax, white wine, and cinnamon).

Fortunately, the wise folks (and their legal time, no doubt) at Studio Editions have include a disclaimer reading, "Remedies and cures included should not be used as they could be dangerous and a threat to health."

Ours is an unused copy, Near Fine, with very minimal evidence of long shelving. For an early edition, click here.