Henriette Davidis - Anna, de kleine keukenmeid - 1870

The binding is in mediocre condition, the spine is loosely added. The sewing is weak/getting loose, and the last few pages have some foxing. The text block is otherwise in neat condition. Very rare.

¶ Cookbook for girls, including dishes for dolls. The frontispiece and cover are lithographed.
From the introduction: ‘Voor kleine, aardige meisjes, die graag lezen, schrijven en breijen leeren en regt lief en zoet zijn, is dit keukenboekje bestemd: en dus willen wij hopen dat velen het op St. Nicolaas of op haren verjaardag ten geschenke zullen krijgen’.
Henriette Davidis (1801–1876) is the most famous writer of cookbooks in Germany. Although many similar cookbooks were published simultaneously, the ‘Keukenboek’ (original: ‘Praktisches Kochbuch. Zuverlässige und selbstgeprüfte Recepte der gewöhnlichen und feineren Küche’) became the cookbook of choice in the late 19th, early 20th century and was part of the basic kitchen tools for many German families. The many antique cookbooks available at the moment show that it was particularly her books that were used. Many families inherited the ‘Keukenboek’ and it went from generation to generation.
The Henriette-Davidis-Museum in Wetter-Wengern has her cookbooks on view. Also the German Cookbook Museum in Dortmund in the Westfalenpark has a large part of her work on display.