Gifting Your Antique Loving Chef

Thanksgiving is a quick peek around the corner.

 

If you are the chef planning a dinner for family and friends at your home, consider my list a wish list.  Leave in a prominent spot in your home, the refrigerator works well in my house as it is a high traffic area, for all to see as they are seeking nourishment for a marathon day of holiday shopping.

 

If you are the guest, an early cookbook is a perfect gift for your antique loving chef. 

 

Antique Cook Books

 

Your chef may not need another cook book; however antique loving chefs adore early cookbooks.  The earliest cookbooks arrived from Britain, but it was not long before settlers in America began producing cookbooks for dishes made from ingredients indigenous to their new homeland. 

 

Consider an early American cookbook from a favorite city.  For example, The Approved Recipe Book, 1839, New Jersey; The Family's Guide,1833, New York; New Bedford Practical Recipe Book, 1859, Massachusetts.

 

Cookbooks from the 20th Century were often created by companies who provided recipes using their ingredients.  Companies including Jello, Gerber Baby Foods, Durkee, and Knox Gelatin are just a few companies who highlighted their product in a recipe book. Prices for such recipe booklets, as they were often paper covers, can typically be found for $20.00 dollars (USD) and under. 

 

The Boston Cooking School Cookbook continues to be highly prized as is was when it was produced in 1896.  Fannie Merritt Farmer published the first edition of this classic using $300.00 of her own money.

 

 

Care and Display of Antique Cookbooks

 

Old paper is fragile and once torn or creased or faded, devalues the book.  Take these precautions to preserve value, looks, and readability of books and paper.

 

You will  want to keep your old cookbooks out of sunlight, free from dust and damp.  An ideal way to display your collection of antique cookbooks would be to place them in a glass front cabinet.  You can easily replace the front of one of your kitchen cupboards with glass, display in a china cabinet or small display table that has an enclosed top made of glass.    

 

Other options include wrapping the book in acid-free, UV-resistant plastic book covers.  Doing so will protect the any type of book cover from the oils on your hands, from dust, and over-handling. 

 

 

Gifting and collecting early cookbooks can be affordable and fun.  You may even discover an amazing delicious new recipe! 

 

     

 

  

Till next time, stay well, stay happy

http://www.antiquesattheirongate.com

            

 

Beginners Guide to Buying Country Antique Furniture

With the foliage nearing an end in the southern New England States,  leaf peepers and antique hunters follow the trails north to New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont.   As I travel further north the antiques in my friends' homes as well as those for sale in quaint shops that are unique to the northern states begin to reflect simple lines and handcrafting from an earlier time in our countrys' history.  I  never met anyone who has not included a few good quality country antique pieces into their decorating sceme, regardless of the primary period style of their home.

The easiest room to add country antiques is the kitchen. A ladder back chair, a handmade and hand painted stool, a tole ware pitcher to set upon the kitchen table. The bedroom provides another area that easily adapts to the addition of a country antique piece.  The bedroom can be decorated with a handmade sampler that has be framed in a country style frame. Early toys and dolls, even  hand made hooked rugs fit nicely and will blend nicely with a more modern décor. 

When you find an antique country piece it is important to examine it in a well lit area. That may mean asking to take the piece outside in the natural light.  Running your hands over the wood of a piece can help you to distinguish if some parts have been replaced.  Also look for wear in obvious spots.  Handles, ends of doors should show wear, whereas the center of door should not have been touched much and not become discolored from the oils in hands or worn from constant touch.  Check for inconsistencies in construction , such as in the dovetailing of drawers and joints.  If there are differences it suggests the piece is a marriage, that is two different pieces have been joined to make one piece. Marriages can also be seen when a piece has woods that are not quite the same grain, or when the lines of the bottom of a cabinet do not appear to match the dimensions and style of the bottom of the cabinet. 

Knowing that phillip head screws are a modern invention and that old nails were flat on top and made of iron will help you to identify authentic county pieces. All genuine antiques are not equally valuable.  Some craftsmen were more skilled than others and their work is more valuable.  However, if a piece is pleasing to your eye and is at an affordable price point, haul out the packing blankets and be confident  in your selection.

Can't wait to cozy up and start my new book.  Anyone have an antique quilt available?

 

 

Till next time, stay safe, stay happy



antiquesattheirongate.com