Manuscript Location

University of Iowa Main Library, Special Collections, Szathmary Culinary Archive

Place of Origin

England

Date of Composition

1834-1903

Description

This book of approximately 78 pages is inscribed "Harriet Dawbarne January 1st, 1834 Liverpool 18 Byrom Street" on the recto of the front free endpaper. However, very little of the book is written in the beautiful hand of the Harriet Dawbarne. Pages 4 through 18 contain at least four hands other than hers and include dates from 1842 to 1865; thereafter the hand of the putative author disappears entirely. From page 27 to the end of the book yet another hand predominates, quite possibly that of whoever wrote the following note appearing beneath Harriet Dawbarne's inscription: "My father and mother married at St. Phillips church [Hardman?] Street Liverpool in 1839 or 1840." The recipes and other material in this hand contain dates from 1898 to 1903, though the bulk of this section may be somewhat earlier. In addition to recipes, this later writer compiled short notes on a variety of culinary topics. Some of these notes cover standard subject matter (sauteing versus frying) but others provide interesting insights into British cooking and serving practices in the latter decades of the nineteenth century. This writer also includes, on page 46, excerpts from an American cookbook published circa 1884, "Maria Parloa's New Book of Cookery,"