Antique Cookbooks Part 3 1920 - 1928

by Anita Mae Draper

Welcome to Part 3 in my Antique Cookbooks series. You can read my story on how I came upon this treasure by checking out the previous posts:
- Antique Cookbooks Part 1 1890 - 1906
- Antique Cookbooks Part 2 1900 - 1916

Today's post covers the period of 1920-1928 and delves into the world of Household Science, or what we used to call Home Economics when I went to school fifty years later.

First up is the 1920 Household Science Circular No. 3 from my own province of Saskatchewan. I believe this 30-page 6" x 9" booklet would been distributed through the school system, not only because of the photographs, but also because of the simple recipes geared toward children's meals and lunch boxes.

1920 Saskatchewan Dept of Education, Short Course Recipes

 Household Science Circular No. 3

Here's the photograph from the front of the book, which is a far cry from the photograph of a real classroom at the back of the book which follows--especially in the length of the skirt. But although it may not be true to life, it reminds me of the little Robin Hood Flour outfits I used to dress my own little kitchen helpers in when they were small.

1920 Saskatchewan Dept of Education, Short Course Recipes Household Science Circular No. 3

Note the girl in the left forefront of this classroom photo as she shows that the Flapper fashion has already hit Saskatchewan by her headdress. I also found it interesting that the girls with white stockings wore white shoes, and those with black stockings wore black shoes. I'm curious if this was regulatory or a dictate of fashion.

1920 Saskatchewan Dept of Education, Short Course Recipes

 Household Science Circular No. 3

As an example of the recipes from this 1920 Household Science circular, I chose page 18 and 19 for 2 reasons. First, because they sometimes switch the word, cookies, for the word, cakes. Is there a reason for this due to different percentages of certain ingredients? And secondly, because they use the word, cassia, for cinnamon.

1920 Saskatchewan Dept of Education, Short Course Recipes

 Household Science Circular No. 3

1924 brings the 6" x 8.5" Apple Recipes, Bulletin No. 35 from the Fruit Branch, Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, Canada. This is one of many booklets published over the years by governments who believe that educating the public on buying, storing and cooking produce will lead to more sales, better profits, and an improved and sustainable industry. If you have an abundance of fruit in your area, check your local Ag Extension Office, or local college or university, for a point in the right direction.

1924 Apple Recipes, Bulletin No. 35, Fruit Branch,
Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, Canada

The value of these types of booklets are pages like the following which show the types of apples available by season, and what they are best used for. I remember how disappointed I was when I made an apple pie using our famous Canadian Macintosh apples. So mushy. And so different when I tried a pie using crisp Delicious apples instead. Now-a-days, we know that the best pies are made using a combination of apples for different tastes and textures. It must be remembered, however, that because this information was published in 1920, many of the apples listed are of the heirloom variety and not so readily available.

1924 Apple Recipes, Bulletin No. 35, Fruit Branch, 
Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, Canada

The Metropolitan Cook Book measures 5.5" x 7.5", is 64 pages long, and was published in 1928 by The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The introductory page notes that there is a companion book entitled The Family Food Supply which explains marketing and meal economics and will be sent to you upon request. Pity the offer no longer applies for I am quite interested in what it would say.

1928 The Metropolitan Cook Book

I once entered a Heritage baking competition at the local fair with an entry from a recipe that used measurements in pounds instead of cups. In those pre-internet days, it took a lot of research to discover what the recipe needed. So for those of you who may run into recipes of this sort, I'm including that information from this Metropolitan Cook Book, as well as some recipes such as Iced Coffee and Cocoa Syrup. Yum.

1928 The Metropolitan Cook Book

I'd like to bring your attention to the recipe for Junket on the left side of the following page set. Am I correct in assuming that Junket is some sort of gelatine?

1928 The Metropolitan Cook Book

The page above on the right side caught my eye because of the use of cottage cheese as a sandwich filling--an ingredient I never considered tucking between two slices of bread although I have to admit the addition of walnuts sound good.

I have a couple cookbooks left which I want to show in more detail so I'll end this post here with this question for today...

Have you ever eaten junket or a cottage cheese sandwich?  Would you like to share your experience?

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Anita Mae Draper is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada with her hubby of 30 plus years and the youngest of their 4 kids. She writes cowboy stories set in the Old West, and Edwardian stories set in the East.  Anita Mae's short story, Riding on a Christmas Wish is published in A Christmas Cup of Cheer, Guideposts Books, October 2013. She is honored that Guideposts Books has chosen a second short story, Here We Go A-wassailing,  for inclusion in the 2014 Christmas Cheer II book set.   Anita Mae is represented by Mary Keeley of Books & Such Literary Agency. You can find Anita at   http://www.anitamaedraper.com/

Antique Cookbooks Part 2 1900 - 1916

by Anita Mae Draper

If you saw my last post, Antique Cookbooks Part 1 1890 - 1906, about old cookbooks I bought at a museum auction, you'll find this is a continuation although the first cookbook overlaps by 5 years.

First up is a frail pamphlet made of newsprint that's missing its cover and copyright page, although page one states the title as Aunt Kate's Cakes and Candies Book, and at the very bottom of the last page Dundee and London: John Leng & Co., Ltd, is stated. 

Aunt Kate's Cakes and Candies Book,
Dundee and London: John Leng & Co., Ltd

With the title and publisher I was able to ignore the dozens of cookbooks attributed to three or more dozen aunts and unwrap the layers to reveal that Aunt Kate is the pseudonym for Helen Greig Souter, an author who wrote several books on household subjects, aided by her popularity as the writer of Aunt Kate's Page in The People's Journal. 

According to the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, the cover of Aunt Kate's Cakes and Candies Book is "blue paper with image on front of woman at stove watched by 3 girls and a boy" (verbatim). The original cost was 1d (1 penny). I couldn't find an image of the exact cover, but here are 2 versions to give you an idea - on the left is a One Penny issue, and on the right another edition of my book, but years later as it shows the price as 2 pence. 

Aunt Kate's 48-page booklet had 3 pages which caught my eye including this one on candy recipes:

Aunt Kate's Cakes and Candies Book,
Dundee and London: John Leng & Co., Ltd

I won't show the other 2 pages that caught my attention here because they're really hard to read, but they were recipes and instructions for making ale, beer, and wine. As I read over them, the song with lyrics of strawberry wine floated through my thoughts, but my eyes latched onto the elderberry wine. Not that I've tasted elderberry wine, but my family values elderberry for its healthful properties in fighting throat and lung infections. Would elderberry wine have the same benefits? I guess it's a moot point though because we left our elderberry tree in the yard of a previous home. 

The next cook book I'd like to show is not only missing a cover, it's also missing the first and last couple pages. However, because it was put out by the Zam-buk people who sell the medicinal salve/balm for every mishap, there is a Zam-buk full page ad on every second page and the title, Cookery Recipes at the top of every page. So that's what I googled. 

The result was that I discovered the pamphlet, The Zam-Buk Book of Cookery Recipes, was printed in 191-. Nothing else on the internet gave a clue as to the actual year, but upon reading the fragile pages, I discovered an ad on pg 11 which gave a testimony dated 8th January 1912.

The Zam-Buk Book of Cookery Recipes

Considering all the ads, there are a surprising number of recipes which include the ingredients and instructions in a brief 4 or 5 lines in this little pamphlet. And I wasn't kidding when I said the pages were fragile, because as I unbent the folded corners prior to photocopying, small pieces of paper started falling off which stopped me right quick. I suppose 100 yr old newsprint deserves the dignity of being left alone. 

The Zam-Buk Book of Cookery Recipes

Bringing some color to this post is the Five Roses Cookbook Bread Pastry Etc, 1915, by Lake of the Woods Milling Company Limited, Canada. Note the oilcloth cover, but ignore the white tape holding the covers together. 

Five Roses Cookbook Bread Pastry Etc, 1915,
Lake of the Woods Milling Company Limited, Canada

Although this 136 page book is put out by the Five Roses Flour Company, I only counted 5 or so pages of advertising including the 2 pages below which show the available sizes of flour for sale. 

Five Roses Cookbook Bread Pastry Etc, 1915,
Lake of the Woods Milling Company Limited, Canada

There were several pages of color photos of bread products, but instead of showing those - which look the same as today's versions - I thought I'd show you some of the recipes instead.

This page is eye-catching because of the spelling of cooky in the header, but cookies in the recipe titles. Also note the recipe for Ammonia Cookies which would be a great alternative for today's cough syrups.

Five Roses Cookbook Bread Pastry Etc, 1915,
Lake of the Woods Milling Company Limited, Canada

A couple things on this next page caught my eye, namely the Yankee and Spanish Buns. The advert at the bottom is interesting because it states the use of Not-Bleached ~ Not-Blended flour, two things to show the purity of the grade. But I always thought non-bleached was modern and that everyone embraced bleached flour back then when it was introduced. Who knew it was a historic selling point?

Five Roses Cookbook Bread Pastry Etc, 1915,
Lake of the Woods Milling Company Limited, Canada

The last cookbook for this post is The Best Way Book No. 3: 1200 Household Himts & Recipes, 1916, Amalgamated Press Printing Works, Southwark, London, U.K, with an original price of 6 pence. 

The Best Way Book No. 3: 1200 Household Hints & Recipes, 1916

As you might guess from the title, there was a series of Best Way books in the early decades of the 20th century and while I can't guarantee there are 1200 household hints in this book, its 146 pages are chock-full of recipes and ideas for healthy living. 

This 5"x7" hardcover cookbook has been well used and several recipes have been written into blank spaces, a treasure for sure, but what stands out are the pages of Vegetarian Recipes because I hadn't realized the term was used back in 1916. 

The Best Way Book No. 3: 1200 Household Hints & Recipes, 1916

Other pages that drew me in were the ones on feeding children and infants and it was here that I found a full-page ad for store-bought canned baby formula. 

The Best Way Book No. 3: 1200 Household Hits & Recipes, 1916

The book includes pages on feeding invalids, laundry, housekeeping, and as shown below, money-saving tips and wartime economy. 

The Best Way Book No. 3: 1200 Household Hints & Recipes, 1916

This would have been a very valuable book of information at the time, and even today as it gives us a glimpse into early 20th century life.

Has anything surprised you in this post? 

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Anita Mae Draper is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada with her hubby of 30 plus years and the youngest of their 4 kids. She writes cowboy stories set in the Old West, and Edwardian stories set in the East.  Anita Mae's short story, Riding on a Christmas Wish is published in A Christmas Cup of Cheer, Guideposts Books, October 2013. She is honored that Guideposts Books have chosen a second short story, Here We Go A-wassailing,  for inclusion in the 2014 Christmas Cheer II book set.   Anita Mae is represented by Mary Keeley of Books & Such Literary Agency. You can find Anita at   http://www.anitamaedraper.com/

Antique Cookbooks Part 1 1890 - 1906

by Anita Mae Draper

A few weeks ago I attended the Wolseley Museum Auction and then posted photos of some of the items I was happy to bring home with me. Today I'd like to tell you about the box of cookbooks I bought for C $14.50 and which included books from 1890 up until the 1930's. In order to show perspective, I've taken this group shot of all the books together and will take several posts to check them out.

Group shot of all the cookbooks I bought for $14.50 at museum auction

The earliest cookbook in the box is a First Edition copy of The Pattern Cook-Book, copyright 1890, printed in New York by The Butterick Publishing Company [Limited].

The Pattern Cook-Book, 1890, The Butterick Publishing Company, New York, USA 

The Pattern Cook-Book, 1890, The Butterick Publishing Company, New York, USA

Did that surprise you as much as me? I've used many Butterick dressmaking patterns, but I've never used their recipes. Like most recipes of the day, though, no oven temperatures are given. Instead, most recipes that need the oven end with a direction like, bake rather slowly for three-quarters of an hour. Or, bake for forty minutes in a moderate oven. As I looked for something special in this book, I found the following lists of household items - a great resource for anyone writing in this period.

The Pattern Cook-Book, 1890, The Butterick Publishing Company, New York, USA

Forgive the quality of the above image, but at 624 pages, The Pattern Cook-Book is difficult to photocopy without breaking the spine.

Next, we have Good Things, the smallest book in the box at about 4" x 5 1/2" x 1/4" high. I was able to photocopy this book in the open position because although it looks like a hardcover and is classified as a hardcover on the bookseller sites, it's quite soft and flexible.

Good Things, Made, Said, and Done, For Every Home and Household, 
1892,  Goodall, Backhouse & Co., Leeds, England

I should note that although this book is dated 1892 it's actually the 29th edition and was originally printed in 1880. I've seen different editions with different colored covers.

Good Things, Made, Said, and Done, For Every Home and Household, 1892, Goodall, Backhouse & Co., Leeds, England

I really like this little book which is written in a conversational tone. For example, take pg 51 and the recipe for Baked Tomatoes... Are not tomatoes expensive? English-grown tomatoes are, generally speaking, dear, as much as 8d. per pound being often asked for them. The cheapest are those which are sent to us from America in tins.

And speaking of things in cans and other store-bought items, check out the left page below. More good things to know for someone who writes or reads in this period. And on the right is an explanation of the types and cost of the recipes found in this l00+ page book.

Good Things, Made, Said, and Done, For Every Home and Household,
1892,  Goodall, Backhouse & Co., Leeds, England

Heading into the 20th century, we have The Wheat City Cook - Book, 1901, Smith & Burton, Brandon, Manitoba.

The Wheat City Cook - Book, 1901, Smith & Burton, Brandon, Manitoba  

Compiled by The Ladies of the Methodist Church in Brandon, this book is unique from any of the others starting with its terribly cut soft cover which reminds me of those brown, industrial paper towels. Except the lines you see really give it a waffle texture sort of like tree bark, but so soft it easily rolls back and is quite comfortable to the touch. The approx 100 pages are held together with heavy brown string. I say approx 100 pages because unlike the other cookbooks, you must turn many pages of advertising before you come upon the title page. Advertising like these pages on what should be pages 4&5 if they were numbered:

The Wheat City Cook - Book, 1901, Smith & Burton, Brandon, Manitoba

After 10 pages of advertising, we find these:

The Wheat City Cook - Book, 1901, Smith & Burton, Brandon, Manitoba

Like many fund-raising cookbooks created today, The Wheat city Cook - Book shows the name of the person contributing the recipe. The page I wanted to bring to your attention isn't the paragraph-style recipes, but a list of measurements in use at the time. I have to be honest... although this is a Canadian cookbook, I'm not familiar with the term, gill.

The Wheat City Cook - Book, 1901, Smith & Burton, Brandon, Manitoba

And now for the biggest, heaviest cookbook of the lot... White House Cook Book, 1906, by Hugo Ziemann, Steward of the White House, and Mrs. F. L. Gillette, The Saalfield Publishing Company, Akron, Ohio, USA.

White House Cook Book, 1906, by Hugo Ziemann and Mrs. F. L. Gillette,
The Saalfield Publishing Company, Akron, Ohio, USA

White House Cook Book, 1906, by Hugo Ziemann and Mrs. F. L. Gillette,
The Saalfield Publishing Company, Akron, Ohio, USA

So it appears this book was co-written by a former White House steward which explains the title and all the references and photographs of state dinners and First Ladies.

White House Cook Book, 1906, by Hugo Ziemann and Mrs. F. L. Gillette,
The Saalfield Publishing Company, Akron, Ohio, USA

With the sub-title being, A Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information to the Home, this cookbook also lists french cooking terms, health remedies, laundry instructions, toilet recipes, and measurements ... 2 wine-glasses equals 1 gill or half a cup...2 gills equals 1 coffeecupful, or 16 tablespoonfuls.

These recipes are equally sophisticated as well as ordinary, and as a kitchen of the day, shows recipes for Head Cheese and Bologna Sausage just a few pages away from sauces such as Tartare, Oyster, and Hollandaise.

 *Update due reader request in comments section for Venison Roast. While looking for this recipe(s) I noticed that the author credits where he found some of the recipes and when it came to venison, his go-to person seems to be the Windsor Hotel in Montreal. Here then are the 2 of the pages devoted to cooking venison:

White House Cook Book, pg 100

White House Cook Book, pg 101

For the writers in the crowd... note the use of the phrase, pretty close, on page 101, Line 6.


So here we are at the end of the post and I've only covered the years from 1890-1906 with 4 cookbooks. I would have loved to show you more pages, but thought instead of me picking them, I'd ask what you want to see.

Is there a recipe, recipe page,  topic or information you'd like to see from any of these books? Let me know in the comments and I'll scan it and add it to the post by the end of the day.

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Anita Mae Draper is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada with her hubby of 30 plus years and the youngest of their 4 kids. She writes cowboy stories set in the Old West, and Edwardian stories set in the East.  Anita Mae's short story, Riding on a Christmas Wish is published in A Christmas Cup of Cheer, Guideposts Books, October 2013. She is honored that Guideposts Books have chosen a second short story, Here We Go A-wassailing,  for inclusion in the 2014 Christmas Cheer II book set.   Anita Mae is represented by Mary Keeley of Books & Such Literary Agency. You can find Anita at   http://www.anitamaedraper.com/