The White House Cook Book
Hugo Ziemann & Mrs. F. L. Gillette | Saalfield Publishing Co. | 1901
An exceptionally well-preserved 1901 edition of The White House Cook Book, the celebrated American cookbook and household guide by Hugo Ziemann, Steward of the White House, and Mrs. F. L. Gillette.
First published in 1887, The White House Cook Book became one of the most popular American cookbooks of its era. This 1901 New and Enlarged Edition, published by The Saalfield Publishing Co. of New York, Akron and Chicago, contains far more than recipes. Described on the title page as "A Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information for the Home," it covers cooking, menus, dinner-giving, table etiquette, household recipes, health suggestions, care of the sick and other aspects of turn-of-the-century domestic life.
The volume is illustrated and includes a handsome portrait of Ida Saxton McKinley, First Lady of the United States from 1897 to 1901. Recipes range from everyday household cooking to dishes that vividly reflect American dining at the turn of the twentieth century.
Particularly notable is the remarkable condition of this 125-year-old copy. The striking white pictorial binding remains exceptionally bright and clean, with its elaborate black cover and spine designs beautifully preserved. The interior is likewise unusually fresh and clean, with remarkably little evidence of the kitchen use so commonly encountered in antique cookbooks.
Condition: Very Good+ antique condition and exceptionally well preserved for its age. Binding is bright and remarkably clean with only minor age and shelf wear. Pages shown are clean, crisp and unusually fresh. A modern gift inscription dated 2013 appears on the front endpaper and is shown in the photographs. Please review all photographs as part of the condition description.
A Note from The Lost Page: This copy was discovered at the estate sale of a bed-and-breakfast in historic Camden, South Carolina, as the inn was closing. Its origins in a Southern B&B seem especially fitting for a cookbook devoted not only to cooking, but also to hospitality, entertaining and the management of the home.
