Place of Origin

United States ➔ Pennsylvania ➔ Downington

Date of Composition

mostly ca. 1859, with a few additions ca. 1880

Description

This cookbook of 100 pages, most of which are numbered, was largely copied from The American Practical Cookery Book, published in 1859, which is explicitly credited on page 27. The book is in a single handsome hand, except for a few recipes that have been inserted on blank pages at the end of most of the book's ten chapters. These added recipes were written by one or more individuals, likely in the 1880s, and are typically out of category.

The book's ten chapter are as follows: [Cakes] (pages [1]-30); Bread (pages 31-44); "Puddings" (pages 45-54); "Pies" (pages 55-63); "Meats" (pages 64-[74]); "Poultry and Game" (pages [75]-[78]); "Soups, Broths, and Hashes" (pages [79]-[84], all blank except one late-added recipe); "Fish" (pages [85]-90); "Gravies, Sauces, Etc." (pages 91-[94]), and "Vegetables" (pages 95-100). Each chapter begins with general observations on its subject, except for the chapter on cakes, which contains general observations at the end.

Minnie A. B. Harvey lived in Downington, Chester County, Pennsylvania.