Hilda's 'Where is it?' of Recipes (1908)

Duckitt, Hildagonda J

Description:

". . . Containing, amongst other practical and tried recipes, many old Cape, Indian, and Malay dishes and preserves: also directions for polishing furniture, cleaning silk etc, and a collection of home remedies in case of sickness"

Printed and published in England, this is an attractive copy of the most popular South African recipe book in use in English during the ten years before and the ten years after the Anglo-Boer War. This copy comes from 1908.

In her charming and helpful introduction (the old question remains: "Do I, a cook, really want to sell this book?"), Hilda writes: "A few blank pages have been left at the end of each letter of the alphabet, in which the owner of this little 'Where Is It?' can enter any new recipes she or he may come across, and think worth preserving." In a fine hand, an early owner (probably A Higginson, who may have acquired the book in Salisbury, Rhodesia, on 24 January 1912) used more than twenty of these pages for her own recipes, including Boston Bread, Cherry Brandy, Bechamel Sauce, Lemon Curd, Lemon Syrup and Lemon Cheese, Green Grenadilla Preserve and Xmas Pudding ("if this pudding is made with unsifted boerenmeal, it will not keep for any length of time").

The overall condition is very good, and even the pencil-holder, an extension of the cover cloth into the back paste-down, is still intact.

 

Details:

  • Publisher: Chapman & Hall
  • Publisher Place: London
  • Date of Publication: 1908
  • Edition: Twenty-fourth thousand
  • Binding Condition: Good+
  • Overall Condition: Good+
  • Size: 190 x 130
  • Lot No: 337
  • Hammer Price: $39
  • Bids: 4
  • Visits: 44
  • Estimate: $80
  • Reserve: $30

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Seller Details:

  • Name: Fontein Books
  • Address: 27 Voortrekker Street, Philippolis 9970
  • Contact Person: Richard Proctor-Sims
  • Country of Origin: South Africa
  • Email: fontein@wol.co.za
  • Website:
  • Preferred Payment Methods: Internet bank transfer or Visa or Mastercard
  • Trade Association: AA Approved
  • Additional Information: Fontein Books has for several years participated in Antiquarian Auctions and its predecessor. It specialises in historical and contemporary books on the Free State and Northern Karoo, and is also an active buyer and seller on commission in these and other fields. Fontein's owner, Richard Proctor-Sims, was an editor, writer and small publisher until 2005, when he moved from Johannesburg to Philippolis, the first settlement (1822) north of the Gariep or Orange River, where he opened his first physical bookshop (to which buyers and sellers are welcome), with reasonable holdings in Africana, both Anglo-Boer wars, biography, history, military history, natural history and travel. He regularly visits Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town and offers to deliver heavy or valuable books or sets to these cities on such visits. Richard Proctor-Sims retains the copyright of Fontein's Antiquarian Auction descriptions and these may not be reproduced without permission and acknowledgment.