The Table: How to Buy Food, How to Cook It, and How to Serve It. Revised edition, with supplements

New York: The Merriam Company, Fifth Avenue, 1895. Thick octavo (23.5 x 15.5 cm.), [iv], 505 pages. All edges green. Indices. Stated "Revised Edition, with Supplements"; originally issued in 1889. A cookbook associated with, but not exclusively drawn from, the great New York restaurant Delmonico. In a facsimile of a letter to Charles Delmonico, the author states he was employed by the restaurant for twenty-five years, although it has been said he worked there as chef de cuisine for thirty-nine years. The Table includes menus for every day of the year as well as somewhat simplified recipes based largely on his professional restaurant recipes. Also present is an interesting section on the fish available in the markets for each month of the year, and a description of some of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the American food markets as they compare to those of Europe, especially with regard to beef. The challenges of shipping live cattle cross country versus slaughtered sides are considered. Also included are a few menus from around the world, including Hong Kong, Africa, Japan, Korea, and Hawaii. Bit of foxing to early leaves, otherwise internally very good. In tan oilcloth, titled in green on the spine and front panel. Free endpapers and adjacent leaves heavily toned from acidification. But overall a near fine copy of a handsome book usually found in poor condition. Early ownership inscription, "Louis R. Merrill", to half title. [Bitting, page 157; not in Cagle].