Manuscript Location

University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Kislak Center for Special Collections - Manuscripts

Place of Origin

England ➔ Yorkshire ➔ Leeds

Date of Composition

1840-1892

Description

The presumed author of this recipe book is J. M. Pemberton, who inscribed the inside back cover "J. [M.] Pemberton's book, Gibraltar, Leeds, 1844." J. M. Pemberton was likely related to Thomas Pemberton and his son Matthew, whose home, "Gibraltar," was located in the Knostrop area of the city of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. The Pembertons' family business Gibraltar Works, which manufactured soap, was active in the mid-nineteenth century.

The oversize volume contains culinary and household recipes, most of which were entered between 1844 and 1875 but some as early as 1840 and some as late as 1892. A table of contents listing recipes and page numbers is written on the inside front cover and on the first three unnumbered pages. A "List of French and other foreign words ..." appears on the next three pages, also unnumbered. The recipes listed in the table of contents are written on numbered pages 1 through 56, followed by eight leaves.

The culinary recipes cover breads, cakes, jellies, meat dishes, pickled foods, puddings, rice dishes, and wines. Among the cakes are ground rice, spice, Wakefield gingerbread, and Parkin, a Yorkshire oaten gingerbread cake associated with Leeds. Puddings include carrot, castle, scalded, and Sir Martin's. There are household recipes for cleaners, blacking, and polishes, as well as a few medical and toiletry recipes. Many recipes are dated and attributed; sources include Jane Hammond, Mrs. J. Pemberton, the Family Herald, the London Journal, and the Young ladies Journal. A poem is written on the last leaf of the volume. Six small leaves of recipes and a letter dated April 14, 1892 are laid in the volume.