South Florida Cookery; Unique recipes from the tropics and elsewhere

Coral Gables, Fla: Wake-Brook House, 1964. Large octavo (22 x 15 cm.), 224 pages. Index. FIRST EDITION, regular issue. There was also a "Sponsor's Edition" limited to 225 signed and numbered copies, with a list of sponsors, but otherwise similar. An interesting collection of recipes from South Florida, which contains an amalgam of dishes focused on the cuisines of the West Indies, especially those that use fruits and vegetables of the Caribbean, with dishes familiar to any American seeking recipes for "entertaining" in that era. The author, Alex Drum Hawkes (1927-1977), was a noted botanist and the author of numerous books on orchids and other tropical plants, as well quite a few cookbooks, usually with a focus on the foods of the West Indies and the Caribbean basin. Several dozen orchids have been named after him. The publishers describe this as "a handmade book" on the copyright page, and its simple design includes boards covered with a bright, decorative, green and white cloth, with a printed paper title label running the length of the spine. The paper of the label is somewhat browned from age, and the cloth is very lightly soiled, but overall the book remains very good or better. Inscribed by the author on the free front endpaper, "For Nika Hazelton – Fond regards of the author, Alex D. Hawkes, December 1968". Nika Hazelton was a renowned cookbook author and food journalist. [OCLC locates thirty-two copies].