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(COOKERY.) Kidder, Edward. E. Kidder's Receipts of Pastry and Cookery, For the Use of his Scholars. Who teaches at his School in Queen Street, near St. Thomas Apostles [etc.] [52] leaves, including frontispiece portrait and 8 plates, 3 of them folding; entirely engraved throughout. 8vo, 186x114 mm, contemporary panelled sheep, spine ends chipped, joints and cover edges rubbed; occasional soiling, offsetting on title from portrait, L1 frayed along edges and reinserted, clean tear across first folding plate repaired on verso. [London, not later than 1733/34]
Scarce handbook for students at the earliest known cooking school in England, run by Kidder (d. 1739) in various London locations during the 1720s-30s. "It is a valuable record of 170 standard English dishes of the day, accompanied by attractive designs for pie shapes and decorations. The first recipe for puff pastry (identical to the standard commercial product of today) to appear in print is Kidder's" (ODNB). Produced in an entirely engraved form unusual for a work of this kind, the book appeared in 2 undated editions. This copy contains the following contemporary owner's inscription on the verso of the portrait: "[illegible] her book February the 12th 1733/4 the day I began learning of Mr Kidder." Bitting, page 124 (calling for an ad leaf, not present here or in the Lilly Library copy); Cagle 792; Maclean, pages 82-84; Une Affaire du Goût 106; ESTC T92424 (all references giving conflicting conjectural dates).
