Cooking Light Subscription: Vintage Cookbooks

Vintage Cookbooks

These days, cookbooks are all fairly similar in that they offer photos of the food and maybe a few pictures of the celebrity chefs responsible for the creations. But long ago, drawings had to suffice, making these recipe collections far more artistic.Since all these books are in the public domain, many sites have scanned in all of the pages for you to enjoy. I’ve only included the covers here, but follow the links and you can read the contents of most of these titles.Read the full text here: ntalfloss.com/blogs/archives/126229#ixzz2BSbwq177 --brought to you by mental_floss! Originally published in 24 parts between 1859 and 1861, the complete set was bound together for sale in 1861 bearing the cover above. It was an immediate success, selling over 60,000 copies in the first year and almost two million before 1868. The book was revolutionary in its format, particularly in the author’s decision to list the ingredients first, setting the standard for cookbooks in years to come. Unfortunately, Mrs. Beeton did not enjoy the spoils of her success very long as she died in childbirth in 1865.Her husband soon sold off the rights to the book, and over the years it has been changed repeatedly to the point where the last edition, published in 1960, bears barely any resemblance to the original. These days though, the 1861 version is considered a classic, giving a detailed glimpse.