National Cookery Book

National Cookery Book Women’s Centennial Executive Committee Gillespie, Elizabeth Duane (Editor), Andrew F. Smith (Introduction) Philadelphia: 1876 Reprint. Cambridge: Applewood Books, 2004. Purchase from Amazon

The first all-American cookbook, The National Cookery Book was compiled for America’s Centennial celebration in 1876. The Women’s Centennial Executive Committee, chaired by Benjamin Franklin’s great granddaughter, sent invitations to women throughout the United States to contribute recipes. Almost 1,000 were accepted and for many, these are the only renditions to have ever been published.

The National Cookery Book is an excellent snapshot of culinary Americana from the time the nation began its second century. Few original copies have survived, and this is the first reprint of an extremely rare and significant cookbook.

With an Introduction by Andrew F. Smith, general editor for the University of Illinois Press’s Food Series.