Manuscript Location

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

Place of Origin

United States ➔ New York

Date of Composition

1850s-1870s

Description

This manuscript includes a title page, a 4-page index of recipes, 49 numbered pages of recipes, and a 19-page diary of a voyage to England, with entries dated April 31, 1856 to June 11, 1856. The title page reads "Mrs. Samuel Leeds New York." The recipe index is in the same hand as the title page, as are most of the recipes, although starting with page 34 sporadic recipes are written in the hands of at least two other writers. The hand of the travel diary is definitely not that of Mrs. Leeds and does not seem to be that of any of the other recipe writers. The cookbook section of the manuscript contains approximately 100 recipes, primarily for cakes and desserts, including, Jane's Cup Cake, Barnard Cake, Sally Lund Cake, bread pudding, Charlotte Russe, Louisville Pie, and White Mountain Cake. Most of the recipes are of the mid-19th century, although a few at the end of the cookbook, such as chocolate custard, orange and lemon layer cakes, and popovers, are of the 1870s or later.