Tuesday, August 4, 2015
The Fireside Cook Book '49 (PART ONE)
Possibly the most impressively illustrated cook book in the history of mid century recipe tomes is The Fireside Cook Book by James A. Beard first published in 1949. A heavy duty, square-bound hardcover, and over 300 pages long, this "complete guide to fine dining for beginners and experts" contains over 1200 recipes and over 400 beautiful illustrations by my favorite artistic dynamic duo ever, Alice and Martin Provensen (find out more about them by clicking HERE! or just google their names for endless examples of their fabulous children's book illustrations.) Bursting with gorgeous color, and so many imaginative lay-outs it'll seriously make your head explode-- throughout the entire month of August 2015 we will be opening the pages of this wonderful collection and taking a look at various highlights, so keep checking back for more-- Bon Appétit!
What a treat, the pictures add to the cookbook's charm. I'm almost tempted to take up cooking, almost.
ReplyDeleteThe picture featuring the girl holding up a lobster and a fish standing in front of the bin marked Bait reminded me of a shirt I had (and have now misplaced) it featured a shack on a dock titled "Joe's Bait and Sushi Bar"
ReplyDeleteWish I knew where I put that shirt...
man these are really great. i think i like the two color (or is it one color) images best. the Cocktail Snacks image is so fab (except who the hell throws their burning cigs on the floor at a party??) and i really love the Toppings for Toast and Biscuits one. and of course the fox with the chicken on the spit at the end. that guy is great!
ReplyDeleteas for the color ones i like the food in the gain weight/lose weight one and in the image where the food is a black and white drawing floating around the perimeter.
the chefs are pretty great too!
really neat!
Indeed. These are terrific. I like the after character at the bottom of the gain weight page--I'd love to see her starring in a Bedknobs and Broomsticks adaptation. My favorite page is probably the Appetizers / Hors D'Oeuvres double-pager (number ten, not the one with the cigarettes and pipes all over the floor, which strikes me as pretty rude even if it's a lawn party). I like the color figures over that sixties color field negative space line art design. Make great wallpaper!
ReplyDeleteYum!
ReplyDeleteI love looking through old cookbooks I always think "Damn, I wish I had the wherewithal to actually cook this stuff!"
ReplyDelete