BUT FOR LIFE THE UNIVERSE WERE NOTHING; AND ALL THAT HAS LIFE REQUIRES NOURISHMENT. FANNIE FARMER, 1896

{HISTORY}

A terrible tragedy when she was a teenager altered Fannie Farmer's life forever. But instead of tragedy begetting tragedy, it turned out to be the saving grace of a 16-year-old girl who would grow into the strong, intelligent, and educated woman responsible for teaching America how to cook in the 1800s.

Credited with establishing our current U.S. cooking measurements guide, Fannie Farmer (1857-1915) was an icon of the 19th and 20th century kitchen. Always interested in the science aspect of cooking and preparing good meals, she also understood the importance of precision when it came to sharing recipes with other home cooks at a time when recipes weren't all that exacting in their technique. A pat of butter, a good-sized egg, a pinch of salt.... that's how recipe directions were given until Fannie emerged on the culinary scene. How much butter is in a pat? What is considered a good-sized egg? How much exactly is a pinch of salt? Those were the questions Fannie wanted to address so that recipes would turn out to be delicious every time for every cook who made them. That attention to detail and accuracy also paved the way for her focus on the importance of sanitary kitchens, good nutrition, and special diets for the sick. 

She published her first cookbook, The Boston Cooking School Cookbook in 1896. No one thought it was going to shatter any publishing records or even attract much attention. But 126 years and over 3 million copies later her cookbook is still in print, simply known now as The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. 

This edition offered in the shop,  is the new completely revised edition of the original. Published in 1931, it was revised by Wilma Lord Perkins,  the niece-in-law of Fannie Farmer, who took over the legacy of the Fannie Farmer cookbook and saw it through seven reprints over the course of the 20th century. Wilma's efforts helped keep the spirit of Fannie and her wonderful recipes relevant as kitchens and cooking changed throughout the decades.

In this 1931 edition, recipes were updated to include more fruits, vegetables and salad greens, highlighting varieties that were more readily available at markets and through seed catalogs than in previous years. Updates to the processes of cooking were also revised as kitchen equipment and appliances improved and became more common in homes in the late 1920s and early 1930s.   All these changes were always made with Fannie in mind. Never veering far from her already delicious recipes, Wilma's efforts helped keep the spirit of Fannie and her wonderful recipes relevant as kitchens and cooking changed throughout the decades.

All these small changes make collecting the Boston Cooking School cookbooks all the more fun and fascinating since each edition has its own distinct character. This edition is also illustrated with black and white photographs. 

Well-loved by its previous owner, this cookbook aesthetically is an absolute delight aesthetically. When it came to the shop, it was falling apart in multiple places.  Suffering from a separated front and back cover, a broken spine and loose pages, it was woebegone in the worst of ways - a condition that would surely find its future fate in the trash bin.

Determined to save it, we repaired it completely, without sacrificing the wonderful, time-worn, splattered character that it had acquired over the last 90 years. Using archival book repair methods and materials, the covers were reattached, the spine rebuilt, and all the loose pages refastened in the binding. It's now a completely intact book with secure covers and pages, ready for another 100 years of use and enjoyment.  

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1931 printing
• 831 pages including over a dozen pages of 1930s-era advertisements for various kitchens and baking products
  
• Interesting recipes include Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup, Afternoon-Tea Doughnuts, Rice Timbales, Oysters A La Astor, Bacon Curls, Eggs Molet Chasseur, Parched Rice with Tomato Sauce and Cheese, Mashed Potato Baskets, Chicken Timbales Farci, Richmond Corn Cakes, Los Angeles Salad Dressing, Honeycomb Pudding, Harvard Cake and so many more!

{CONDITION}

In well-loved vintage condition and aged to perfection , this cookbook is a dream as far as visible signs of age and use.  A zillion cooking splatters and stains can be found throughout, along with two handwritten recipes in the back, tanned coverboards, and some ragged edges on a few of the pages.  All of this evidence of past adventures in the kitchen does not affect the use of this cookbook in any way, as they are all light splatters or stains.  Please see photos for examples of these conditions, and see our note above about rebuilding the cookbook and returning it to usable fashion. There is a 3.5-inch rip to the last page of the cookbook (an advertisement for Lux soap and Old Grist Mill Health Foods). The spine is tight, and all pages are intact.   

{SIZE}

Measures 5.5" inches (width) x 8.2.5" inches (length) x 1.75" inches (thickness) and weighs 2.7 lbs.

{WHY IT IS ESPECIALLY MARVELOUS}

Like cooking with your mom or your grandmother or your aunt or anyone else who taught you the ways of the kitchen, this vintage cookbook contains all the charm and love of a valued family heirloom. In every hand-touched mark of its pages, whether it's a note,  a cooking splatter, or a stain, there is evidence of joy for its contents and for the women who cooked with it in the kitchen  over the past 90 years. By adding your own layer of culinary adventures,  you'll become part of a marvelous journey of one book across many centuries and many kitchens.