Sunday, October 2, 2011

Vintage Cook Books

Don't you love them? I especially enjoy the ones with photos like these. I mean, who would eat this?

Or this?

I found The Fireside Cook Book while junking in Connecticut years ago. It's my all time favorite.

I'll show you why...

Who wouldn't want to buy chops from this man?

Pasta is yummy.

Oui, bien sur!

"Four persons are wanted to make a salad ~ A spendthrift for oil, a miser for vinegar, a counselor for salt and a madman to stir it all up".

The very best illustration in the book...Eggs, and what you can do to them.

I've never actually tried any of the recipes from the Fireside Cook Book. I just sit with it in my lap, late at night, and read it like normal people read a novel.

12 comments:

annabel52 said...

Those illustrations in your fireside cookbook look like Charles Harper.
I just love his free style illustrations and sense of humor. I remember his illustrations as a child in textbooks. Oops...I just told my age!!

Anonymous said...

Great graphics. You don't see much of that in cookbooks thse days.

JunqueMagnet said...

My grandmother had an enormous collection of those recipe booklets that you could get from products (i.e. jello, etc.) When she passed I took a bunch of them because I loved the graphics. We do on occasion pick one of the less revolting sounding recipes and try it. I will say we have yet to find one we made more than once but it sure is fun.I would LOVE to find your cookbook while out junking one day.Enjoy.

Barbara said...

I'm afraid I would cut that book up and frame those illustrations, which would be wrong, I know - but they are great. I took some photos of old cookbooks for eBay and blog this week, but yours are much cuter!

Andy's Attic said...

That cookbook looks familiar. My mother may have had that one but I don't remember her cooking any of that ugly food :>)
Annette

Apron Thrift Girl said...

Those illustrations are far more yummy then some of those recipes. lol. The French one is by far my favorite!

JunkStuffTreasures said...

Those graphics are great- the egg illustrations are adorable. What a fun find!

FickleFloozy said...

Coddled egg! Tee hee...

Linda @ A La Carte said...

I love old cookbooks and buy them all the time. I love the photos and the illustrations..such fun!

Marty said...

Those are some of the cutest illustrattions Ive ever seen! The pictures of the food people used to make are indeed funny...and revolting :) Have you ever read "The Gallery of regrettable food" by James Lileks? It's nothing but (real) vintage cookbook pics with hilarious captions. All food that looks terrible!

Trina M Curran said...

I love, love, love vintage cookbooks, and the pictures are hysterical...and so whimsical...that's why most of them are shop failures (I keep them). Ha! Great book you found!

Tina-Marie said...

So funny, over the weekend, we did the annual flea market in Williamsburg, Virginia and sold all of our cookbooks. Every lady who bought one said she just reads them, never cooks from them. Many of these ladies are retired women, so I think they retired from cooking too! Love it!