Cooking the Books

'Tacuinum Sanitatis' Northern Italy (late 14th century)

'Tacuinum Sanitatis' Northern Italy (late 14th century)

L'oignon Platearius, 'Le Livre des Simples Médecines' 1480

'Le Repas Amoureux' In: Boccaccio's 'The Decameron' 1432

'Les étuves' In: 'Le livre de Valère Maxime' 15th century
[I'm obviously going to the wrong restaurants]

Curtius Rufus : 'Geschichte Alexander des Großen'
(History of Alexander the Great) 1465-1475 [Detail]

Curtius Rufus : 'Geschichte Alexander des Großen'
(History of Alexander the Great) 1465-1475 [Detail]

'Le Service' In: 'Histoire de Renaud de Montauban' 1470

'Repas de noce' 'Histoire de Renaud de Montauban' 1470 BNF

'La Marchande de Lait' (Milkmaid) - Cries of Paris 1500

'Le Vin en Tonneau' In: 'Heures à l'Usage de Tours' 1500

Tafelaufsatz aus einem Skizzenbuch
- sketch of table decoration from c. 16th century.

Rumpolt Marx - Kochbuch (cookbook) 1600

Rumpolt Marx - Kochbuch (cookbook) 1600

'The Accomplished Ladies Rich Closet of
Rarities; or, The Ingenious Gentlewoman
and Servant-Maids Delightful Companion' 1696

Apicius - 'De Opsoniis et Condimentis' 1709

Conrad Hagger - 'Neues Saltzburgisches Koch-Buch'
(New Saltzburg Cookbook) 1718

Conrad Hagger - 'Neues Saltzburgisches Koch-Buch'
(New Saltzburg Cookbook) 1718

Maria Eliza Rundell - 'A New System Of Domestic Cookery, Formed Upon Principles Of Economy, And Adapted To The Use Of Private Families. By A Lady.' 1807

Frederick Accum - 'Culinary Chemistry' 1821

Isabella Beeton - 'Beeton's Book of Household Management' 1861

These essentially random images were variously obtained from:

• 'The Art of Cuisine and the Culture of Dining' - Culinary documents from the National Library of Austria (current exhibition).
• 'Medieval Gastronomy in Images' - extensive web exhibition (mostly in english) at BNF.
• 'Feeding America' - The Historic American Cookbook Project at Michigan State University Library.
• 'Books for Cooks' at The British Library's Learning collection.
• Kansas State University Cookery exhibit.

A few other sites of interest, but by no means exhaustive...

• Historical Culinary & Brewing Documents Online (these are mostly transcriptions from the sample I saw).
• 'Not by Bread Alone' - America's Culinary Heritage at Cornell University.
• 'Defining HER Life' - Cooking & Gardening at University of Delaware Library.
• 'Fooles and Fricassees: Food in Shakespeare's England' at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
• 'Of Food in General' at Kings College, London.
• 'Cookery, Gastronomy and Entertaining' at Waterloo University Library, Ontario.

Update - I forgot to include this: a thoroughly fascinating site - The Food Timeline. Definitely worth perusing.