Place of Origin

England

Date of Composition

ca. 1850-ca. 1875

Description

This receipt book of approximately 52 written pages appears to have been written by a single individual, except for a few later additions squeezed into odd spaces. Most of the recipes outline desserts, particularly puddings, although there are also some meat recipes (four on pages 36-39) and a number of medical and household recipes at the end of the book. Judging from the idiom of the recipes and the use of the word "treacle" for "molasses" (page 29), the book is likely English. Many of the recipes, likewise, are more characteristically 19th-century English than American, including Lemon Dumplin (page 11), Lettuce Ginger (preserved ginger imitated with lettuce stalks, page 20), To Stew Hare (page 36), Scotch Collops (page 61), Chutnee Sauce (page 62), and Potted Pig's Head (page 63). The recipe for Baking Powder on page 30 is unlikely to be earlier than the mid-1850s, when the leavening first became familiar in England (and America), and the two recipes for bread on page 46, both of which call for "dried German yeast," cannot have been written before the late 1860s, when compressed yeast went on the market. A laid-in recipe for curing hams is dated 1858. Overall, the book has the feel of having been composed in a privileged household with an interest in both new and somewhat old-fashioned dishes.

There is a list of furnishings in pencil on p. [57] and another list of furnishings in a different hand, in black ink, on p. [61] under the heading: "J.G. Perigoe, 32 Alexandra Rd., Aug 13th 1930 to Mr. Tanton Sale Room." The address exists in a number of locales in both the US and UK.