It is not claimed that these recipes are new. Some are original; some the gift of friends who have experimented till good results were obtained; some are old family recipes, never before printed; while others are standard rules that have stood the test of years and are still at the head of their respective lists... Lily Haxworth Wallace

{HISTORY}

This vintage cookbook is fun on so many different levels for it tells the story of five unique aspects of culinary history. Let's look...

First, there is the story of Count Benjamin Thompson Rumford (1753-1814) who revolutionized cooking in terms of ability and efficiency. He invented the first oven, tea kettle, and boiler. He was the first to recommend that holes be drilled in the handles of pots and pans for hanging storage and he created an air-tight oven door through scientific studies of heat, airflow, and fuel analysis. 

Then there's the story of Eben Norton Horsford (1818-1893) who reconfigured the components of baking powder to include calcium biphosphate in place of the previously used cream of tarter. Eben opened his own baking powder factory in Providence, Rhode Island in 1854 called Rumford Chemical Works, which was named after Count Rumford. 

Rumford Complete Cook Book was first published in 1908 - a combined effort of Boston Cooking School founder Fannie Merritt Farmer (1857-1915) and British-American Home Economics Writer and Lecturer Lily Haxworth Wallace. Just like Eben Horsford and Count Rumford, Fannie and Lily took a scientific approach to cooking and household management thinking of both in hygienic, professional, and nutritious terms. 

You might suppose that a cookbook published by a food product company would solely focus only on recipes that called for their specific brand of food. Not so in the case of the Rumford Complete Cook Book. It includes recipes for all meals of the day, the majority of which do not call for baking powder.  Rumford was a forerunner in producing cooking booklets that taught American home cooks how to prepare better meals. Whether that was regarding equipment, nutrition, products, or cooking efficiencies, Rumford cooking booklets became a trusted reference for 19th and 20th-century households. In 1908, they combined many of the recipes and pieces of helpful advice from the booklets into one hardbound book - the Rumford Complete Cook Book. By the time this edition was published in 1930, the cookbook was in its 4th printing and would continue on for dozens more printings after that, eventually selling millions of copies. 

Each of the Rumford Cook Book reprints features slight changes depending on world events occurring during the year it was printed and the evolution of the kitchen as it modernized.  This 1930 edition features blank Memoranda pages throughout each chapter for note-taking and personal recipe adjustments. Also, mention of cooking over a cast iron range, which involved heating via coal or wood, is assumed as most recipes call for a "hot" oven or a "moderate" oven. Our modern-day oven temperatures (like 350 or 425) are not part of standard cooking instructions yet. And last but not least, the most unique aspect of this volume in particular, is the addition of ten handwritten recipes written in the margins and memoranda sections throughout (see a list of specific recipes in the Special Features section below). 

A lovely throughline that has remained consistent in each and every cookbook edition, most notably in the baking section, is the appearance of Rumford Baking Powder.  A tried and true staple since 1857, when it was discovered that calcium biphosphate replaced natural minerals lost in the process of milling flour, Rumford Baking Powder was deemed a more nutritious product. 

So much interesting history lives inside this unassuming book!

Photo of Lily Haxworth Wallace courtesy of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Jan 11th, 1937

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1930 edition
•  236 pages
• All recipes call for whole food ingredients and from-scratch food preparation
• Contains a series of blank Memoranda pages for note-taking
• In addition to recipes, this cookbook includes information on carving techniques, Rumford Chemical Works Company info, and an advertisement for Horsford's Acid Phosphate for medicinal purposes, etc.
• Interesting recipes include Chocolate CreamNectar, Mint Cordial, Maple Rolls, Huckleberry Cake, Oatmeal Sticks, Poor Man's Cake, Snow Cake, Queen Eclairs, Gooseberry Jelly, Cheese Toast Sandwiches, Peanut Brittle, January Thaw, Japanese Eggs, Orange Rock Cakes, Cinnamon Crisps, Soft Gingerbread, Boild Fruit Dumplings, Roman Punch, Dainty Pudding, Corn Meal Waffles, Quick Buckwheat Cakes, Nut and Raisin Sandwiches, Potato Croquettes, Scalloped Cauliflower and Creole Tomatoes
• Handwritten recipes include Crispettes, Fondant, Cream Fudge, Vanilla Ice Cream, Special Sunshine Cake, Vanilla Drop Cakes, Nut Bread, Lemon Meringue Pie, White Sauce, Salad Dressing
• Also included is a newspaper-clipped Nancy Page column titled Claire Learns Some of the Hotel Menu Terms by Florence La Ganke 

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition. Clean and bright throughout, this cookbook is in great shape with no cooking spots or stains. A previous owner's name is written on the front inside endpaper. The penmanship on the handwritten recipes is very legible and easy to read, While they do vary in handwriting style, perhaps suggesting multiple owners or generations, the recipes are written in pencil, ballpoint pen or fountain pen. The coverboards are very bright and clean. The spine is tight and all pages are intact.   

{SIZE}

Measures 7.5" inches (length) x 5" inches (width) x .75" inches (thickness) and weighs 12 oz

{FOR THE 1930s KITCHEN LOVER}

Find more vintage kitchen heirlooms from the 1930s era in the shop here.