Manuscript Location

Texas Woman's University Denton, Blagg-Huey Library

Place of Origin

England

Date of Composition

mostly ca. 1738

Description

This English recipe book is inscribed at the front "Mary Hill 1738 / A Receite Book / 1738."  It also bears the names Martha Midgely and Mary Midgely on the inscription page and elsewhere in the manuscript. Mary Hill appears to have written a table of twenty-six recipes that appears shortly after the inscription, as well as many of these recipes as outlined in the text. However, some of the recipes listed in the table are in hands other than the inscriber's, and there are many additional recipes not listed in the table that are likewise not in the inscriber's hand. The book includes a number of pages bearing tables of weights and measures and arithmetic exercises. This material is in several different hands, perhaps including those of Martha Midgely and Mary Midgely, whose names appear in random spaces. These individuals may also have written some of the recipes not in Mary Hill's hand, as the hands of the tables and exercises correspond with the hands of some of the recipes. Nearly all of the recipes listed in the table at the front are for food and drink, and many recipes not listed in the table are for food and drink as well. There are also medical recipes..

This gloss of the book is based on photographs of some of the pages sent to Manuscript Cookbooks Survey by the library. The library has indicated that the book is written from both the front and back and comprises approximately 130 pages.