The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy; Which far exceeds any Thing of the Kind yet published, Containing I. How to Roast and Boil to Perfection every Thing necessary to be sent up to Table. II. Of Made Dishes. III. How expensive a French Cook's Sauce is. IV. To make a Number of pretty little Dishes for a Supper or Side-Dish, and little Corner dishes for a great Table. V. To dress Fish. VI. Of Soups and Broths. VII. Of Puddings. VIII. Of Pies. IX. For a Lent Dinner; a number of good Dishes, which you may make Use of at any other Time. X. Directions to prepare proper Food for the Sick. XI. For Captains of Ships; how to make all useful Things for a Vo y a g e ; and setting out a Table on board a Ship. XII. Of Hogs Puddings, Sausages, &c. XIII. To pot and make Hams, &c. XIV. Of Pickling. XV. Of making Cakes, &c. XVI. Of Cheesecakes, Creams, Jellies, Whip-Syllabubs, &c. XVII. Of made Wines, Brewing, French Bread, Muffins, &c. XVIII. Jarring Cherries and Preserves, &c. XIX. To make Anchovies, Vermicelli, Catchup,

London: Printed for W. Strahan, J. Rivington and Sons.., 1784. Octavo (21 x 12.5 cm.), vi, xx, 409, [1], [25], [1] pages. Errata. Large folding chart "The Order of a Modern Bill of Fare... Old ink signature on top blank margin of title page. Title page stained on blank edges. Stated “A New Edition with all the Modern Improvements”. The first cookery book of Hannah Glasse (1708-1770), perhaps the most famous of 18th century English cookbook authors. The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy was first published in 1747 and instantly became one of the best-selling cookbooks of its time. It was reprinted within its first year of publication, and appeared in more than twenty editions, many of which were copied without the author's consent. The book was published in Dublin in 1748 and in America from 1805. The 1751 edition was the first book to mention trifle with jelly as an ingredient and the 1758 edition gave the first mention of "Hamburgh sausages" and piccalilli. The book was popular in the Thirteen Colonies of America, and its appeal survived the American War of Independence, with copies being owned by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Glasse later wrote The Servants' Directory (1760) and The Compleat Confectioner (1760); neither of these titles were as commercially successful as her first book. Glasse had copied extensively from other cookery books, around a third of the recipes having been published elsewhere. Among her original recipes are the first known curry recipe written in English, as well as three recipes for pilau, an early reference to vanilla in English cuisine, the firstrecorded use of jelly in trifle, and an early recipe for ice cream. She was also the first to use the term "Yorkshire pudding" in print. Glasse became a dressmaker in Covent Garden - where her clients included Princess Augusta, the Princess of Wales - but she ran up excessive debts. She was imprisoned for bankruptcy and was forced to sell the copyright of The Art of Cookery. Much of Glasse's later life is unrecorded; information about her identity was lost until uncovered in 1938 by the historian Madeleine Hope Dodds. Other authors plagiarized Glasse's writing and pirated copies became common, particularly in the United States. The Art of Cookery has been admired by English cooks in the second part of the 20th century, and influenced many of them, including Elizabeth David, Fanny Cradock and Clarissa Dickson Wright. Bound circa 1970 in three-quarter tan calf over marbled boards, ruled in blind. Spine with five raised bands, decoratively gilt-ruled in compartments, red morocco label lettered in gilt. Very good. [OCLC locates twenty-one copies; Bitting, pages 189 (1770 edition); Oxford, pages 76/77 & 131-132 (citing the 1747 first edition of 1802; Pennell, page 155].