Manuscript Location

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

Place of Origin

United States

Date of Composition

ca. 1862-1884

Description

This recipe book of 112 leaves is largely the work of a single author writing in light brown and purple ink; some additions by others were made in pencil and ink. The recipes are organized in separate sections for cakes, pies, wines, preserves and pickles, meats, puddings, dyes, and medicines. Among several loose items included with the manuscript is an advertising pamphlet for the Universal Three Minute Bread Maker, manufactured by Landers, Frary & Clark, of New Britain, Connecticut. This and various clippings and other material laid in the manuscript suggest that the book may have originated in the Northeast United States. (Two recipes in a later handwriting are identified as from Raleigh, North Carolina and Titusville, Pennsylvania.) The book was at least partly compiled during the second half of the 19th century. A recipe for mince meat is attributed to Marion Harland, whose inaugural cookbook, a runaway bestseller, was published in 1872. Near the end of the manuscript there is a pasted in clipping dated 1862 and a note in pencil with the date 1884.