The Housekeeper's Instructor
London, Thomas Kelly, [1820]. Henderson, W A & Schnebbelie, Jacob Christopher. The Housekeeper's Instructor or Universal Family Cook. (17th Ed) Thomas Kelly: London [c.1820]. 8vo (215x130mm) Half bound tan calf, marbled bds [2],464pp. Lacks pp367-416 & 1 plate. Rubbed & worn, foxing
Second-hand hardcover
HENDERSON, W A [William August] and SCHNEBBELIE, J C [Jacob Christopher]
The Housekeeper's Instructor; or, universal family-cook; being a full and clear display of the Art of Cookery in all its Branches; containing proper directions for dressing all kinds of butcher's meat, poultry, game, fish &c. The method of preparing all the varieties of soups, hashes and made dishes; the whole art of confectionary, pickling, preserving &c; the making and keeping in perfection British wines; and proper rules for brewing malt liquor for large or small families, To which is added The Complete Art of Carving, illustrated with engravings, explaining, by proper references the manner in which young practitioners may acquit themselves at table with elegance and ease. Also bills of fare for every month in the year, the mannder of decorating a table displayed by copper-plates, directions for marketing, observations on culinary poisons, and the management of the kitchen and fruit garden by W A Henderson, many years eminent in the culinary profession, The Seventeenth Edition, corrected, revised and considerably improved by every modern addition and variation in the Art, by Jacob Christopher Schnebbelie, late apprentice to Messrs Tupp and Perry, Oxford Street, afterward principal cook at Melun's Hotel Bath; and of Martelli's The Albany, London.
London: printed for Thomas Kelly, 17 Paternoster-row, [ca.1818]. Printed by W Clewes, Northumberland-Court, Strand.
Octavo (215x140mm) half bound contemporary tan calf, marbled boards, simple gilt ruled plain spine, top and fore-edge yellow, [2] [engraved frontispiece portrait of Schnebbelie (by A W Warrens, painted by T Uwins), lacks a second frontispiece],[1]-367,417-464pp. Ten engraved plates, lacks the eleventh engraved plate called for 'A Grand Entertainment 1st Course'.
Boards edges rubbed, joints worn but solid, corners bruised, calf scuffed; small closed tear to p.153; lacks p.183/4 and pps 368-416 (as bound);
gift inscription to front free end-paper "Harriet Taylor, Given to her by her very affectionate Mother.."; wove paper, light foxing and offset toning throughout, two plates heavily toned but legible; a few penciled under-linings. A solid reference copy.
First published in 1791, and originally available in 12 parts as well as complete editions, 'Henderson's Art of Cookery, Carving etc' ran to 11 editions before the addition of Schnebbelie's input in 1804 and at least 17 editions in 20 years. Chapters include instructions on carving, making British wines, collaring, confectionery, making cheese and a supplement on seasonal and market gardening. In the preserving section there are a number of recipes for maritime use and suitable for 'long voyages'.
Little record remains of Henderson or Schnebbelie's culinary prowess. In advertisements for various editions, Henderson was said to have a most extensive culinary career. Schnebbelie was originally apprenticed as a draughtsman/stationer (to follow his father's career), but ran away to sea before finally apprenticing more successfully with Tupp & Perry, a central London pastry & confectionery shop around 1800. The frontispiece celebrates his role at Martelli's, the Albany in Piccadilly. Built originally in 1770, and the home of the Duke of York for a number of years, the Albany was converted into gentlemans' apartments in 1802 with a 'Maitre d'Hotel' and dining room on the ground floor. According to the records of the Trustees' of Albany, the dining room (presumably 'Martelli's) proved consistently unsuccessful from its opening in 1803 and was abandoned in December 1810.
§ Oxford p.134; Hazlitt p.179; Maclean p.68; Simon BG p832-833; Bitting p224; Cagle 742; Vicaire 441; - all earlier editions.
Oxford notes this edition as undated, but from 1811; Hazlitt's Old Cookery Books & Ancient Cuisine also asserts a date of 1811. A seventeenth edition was published by J Stratford in 1811, however Stratford was declared a bankrupt in 1813 and was in debtor's prison in 1816 with his affairs unresolved. In November 1818 Thomas Kelly purchased the business of Richard Evans in Paternoster-row and moved from number 52-23 to Richard Evans' old business address 17 Paternoster-row. Included in the advertisement of the purchase was a list of titles now published by Kelly, including 'The Housekeeper's Instructor'; thus not before 1818. OCLC suggests a date of [1823] for the copy held at the British Library at St Pancras.
Item #9535
ISBN: NoISBN
Price: $395.00 AUD