Sunday, November 25, 2012

The New England Cook Book (Part 1)

We're still pumped (and plump) from our recent Thanksgiving 2012 festivities and keeping the focus on food for a few more posts-- and if there is one booklet in my collection that should've held the spotlight on that day (instead of 4 days later-- sorry!) it's this one, The New England Cook Book (1956) by Melanie De Proft and featuring excellent illustrative key art by Lou Peters. So much rad imagery it's going to take two posts to give you most of the highlights. I've included full pages where the text runs into the art because I'm much too lazy to spend time photoshopping everything nice and pretty anymore (sorry 2!) Even more fun in the second half coming up NEXT!

















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14 comments:

  1. Crafty CNovember 25, 2012

    I really love this! The images on the cover kinda remind me of the cobblestone street city scenes in Gay Purr-ee and 101 Dalmations. That's one of my fav things in animation or illustration - olde timey city streets. :)

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  2. Mr. KarswellNovember 25, 2012

    This post hit on another one of your fave things, Carol-- one eyed singing lobsters that play the guitar!

    Oh wait, that's one of my favorite things...

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  3. Mr. KarswellNovember 25, 2012

    Also, 5th image from the top:

    He's mad and he's not going to bake it anymore!!!

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  4. Crafty CNovember 25, 2012

    That lobster is funny. I was thinking he was a little out of place. He should maybe be in some psychedelic mushroom-based cookbook.

    And I think that mad dude's rolls came out too hard or somethin'.

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  5. Mr. KarswellNovember 25, 2012

    The lobster is part of a rather gruesome entry on how to kill and clean them... I suppose my posts would occasionally benefit from leaving in some of the text instead of just focusing on the art, eh?

    There's actually a story behind why that guy is mad at his rolls too, I went back to that chapter and just noticed its The History of why rolls are shaped the way they are even to this day.

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  6. Crafty CNovember 25, 2012

    I am very disappointed that you did not share those stores with us.

    How will I ever know how to kill and clean a lobster and why the dude with the weird hair is mad at his food?!?!

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  7. Mr. KarswellNovember 25, 2012

    Check your email, Smartypants!

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  8. Mr. CavinNovember 26, 2012

    I like the quilt. I'd sleep under it.

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    Replies
    1. Mr. KarswellNovember 26, 2012

      Don't let Mr. Karswell see those buckle shoes you left by the bedside-- he might steal them while you sleep!

      Delete
  9. GuillaumeNovember 28, 2012

    Another cool recipe book!

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  10. Mr. KarswellNovember 28, 2012

    thanks G! Part Two coming up here shortly...

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  11. KL from NYCDecember 31, 2012

    I knew this one looked familiar -- I have it. There weren't many good things available in thrift shops in NYC (and now hardly anything at all thrifty in them), but there were a small pile of these books that people had been passing up, so the place had them marked down -- I didn't pass them up.
    One of them had etiquette rules and arrangements for different kinds of entertaining -- I used parts of that for lessons in classes.

    Do you know if this Culinary Arts organization was a school, mail-order book club, or whatever?

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  12. Crafty CDecember 31, 2012

    The New England Culinary Institute is a cooking school in Montpelier VT and I believe it's still there.

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  13. KL from NYCDecember 31, 2012

    Thank you, CPC.
    I tried locating it a long while ago and gave up.

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