THE EPICUREAN, THE CLASSIC DELMONICO’S COOKBOOK IN A LOVELY ART DECO BINDING
RANHOFER, Charles. The Epicurean. A Complete Treatise of Analytical and Practical Studies on the Culinary Art. Including… a Selection of Interesting Bills of Fare of Delmonico's, from 1862 to 1894. Chicago: The Hotel Monthly Press, (1920). Large thick quarto, original Art Deco-style blind- and gilt-stamped navy cloth, patterned endpapers.
Later edition of one of the most important cookbooks ever produced, with 800 in-text and full-page illustrations, in a striking original Art Deco binding.
In the 1820s, the Delmonicos opened their Manhattan restaurant, bringing European-style fine dining to America. It was not until the arrival in the 1860s of Charles Ranhofer in Delmonico's kitchen, however, that Delmonico's turned into a world-famous establishment, attracting fine chefs from all over Europe. Boasting a guest list that included Charles Louis Napoleon, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, Queen Victoria, Walter Scott, and Lillian Russell, Delmonico's quickly became the place-to-be-seen among affluent Manhattanites and visitors to New York. First published in 1894 (almost 20 years before that classic culinary bible, Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire), The Epicurean is a massive compendium of menus, techniques, terminology, and thousands of recipes. Bitting, 388.
Tape on page 514, minor foxing mainly to preliminaries and edges of text block, light wear to extremities of binding. A near-fine copy.