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I used to have the Rumford Baking Powder cookbook from I think it was 1928 or maybe 32 not sure. The funny thing is, alot of the recipes were made without ever using baking powder. It was hard backed with no illustrations at all, but it had some wonderful recipes for, what was then, everyday things. Unfortunately when my pater died my sil threw it away without asking anyone if it was important. I would kill to have that cookbook!

To date, I think the earliest one I have is a Junior League book from about 1912. I have to wait till they're all out of storage to check. I look for old books everywhere - I just love them.

My oldest is also one of my favorites. It's an early 1900s version of "The New Orleans Times-Picayune Creole Cookbook." Absolutely wonderful!

I actually have, by some miracle as far as I am concerned, one of the first 1800's printings of the Fanny Farmer Boston Cooking School cookbook. I found it while I was living in the UK for the second time and was browsing through a used bookshop. It's still in great condition, and like ye above have mentioned, I love looking at the added notes and little things that have been tucked in there over the years. At one point, it must have been owned by a French person, because most of the notes are in French (and I can't read much of it) and there is a postcard from the UK to France, written in French, too. Other things, like coupons and old magazine clippings of recipes are tucked away, too. Can you believe that I only paid the equivalent of about $3.00!?

I have really used it, too! One of the most interesting things about it is that it was one of the first cookbooks to include actual, and very precise, measurements for everything. Most of the recipes are fantastic, and different from the normal ones that you see today, which is nice, too. The desserts especially, like the cookies, are just a little different and fun to spring on people. :)

the oldest i have is a first edition mastering the art of french cooking. the inscription is from my grandfather as a gift to my grandmother for her birthday -- i think it's 1961 or 1962, can't remember. i covered it with brown paper to try and preserve the cover, though it's definitely seen better days!

Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking from the 40's or 50's. I've found that I don't care too much for the recipes usually, but I like the explanations of how to cook things. (It's where I learned to boil an egg.)

I don't remember if it was from my mom's or dad's side of the family, but it's a hand-me-down from one of the two. And there's a pamphlet, of the same era, on tuna casseroles stuffed in its pages somewhere.

It looks like this">http://i8.ebayimg.com/05/i/001/36/d3/e6cb_3.JPG>this one. Only mine is faded and torn and held together with duct tape.

I have an old Fanny Farmer book also, no date in it, but clearly from the late 1800's. I actually have it in an acid-free box to try and keep it together as long as possible.
Other than that I have an 1894 boo with almost no reference to who wrote it. It has green hard covers (fabric) and is about 3 inches thick. It has a date page, and location (New York) but no author listed, though I think it may be missing some pages.
It is one of those with the really basic measurements of 'handful', 'juice-glass full', 'half a wine glass', 'dessert spoon of' etc. I have tried a few things from both and most come out just fine.

I had piles of older cookbooks (1910-1970) but I finally had to pare down last year. The ones I never opened at all were given away. I regret losing a few of them now, but really, I have so many and never used most of those.

I have a Betty Crocker "Cookie" cookbook that was my Mom's that I couldn't live without. She passed away 15 years ago this month. Christmas would not be the same without her orange drop cookies that are found in this cookbook - her notes in the margins make me feel like she is still in the kitchen with me.

A 1970s Joy of Cooking. I got it at a used bookstore in college because I couldn't stand the idea of using one different from my mother's. I also saved myself a few bucks too!

I've got a few of them from the 1890's including Gillette's Magic Cookbook. Gillette was a yeast company. I love the title.

I've also got Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cooking School Cookbook, which came out before the Fanny Farmer Original Boston Cooking School cookbook. And I've got an old Fannie Farmer as well.

And I've got some Boston Cooking School magazines from the 30s and 40s.

There's a handwritten recipe in front of one of the 1890's cookbooks for a chocolate cake that requires lard. The recipe is dated 1917.

And I've got quite few books from the early 1900's. A lot of them were sponsored by companies. At least two were from the gas company, but others are cookbooks for particular products.

Ah -- I also have the complete set of the Joy of Cooking editions. The earliest one is the replica version.

I might have some that are older than the 1890s. but I'm in the process of rearranging things, so they aren't all at my fingertips.

So yeah, I've got a lot of old cookbooks. A lot of them have notes in the margins and recipes scribbled on blank pages, and some even had scraps of paper with notes on them. All of that lowers the value of the books as collector's items, but I kind of like the idea that the old owners' personal recipes have lived on a bit.

My Mom's old falling apart Fannie Farmer Cookbook. I love it.

Just like Jerzee, my oldest is the Amy Vanderbilt cookbook. It was my mom Grace's, and when she passed away, my dad Sidney began to enjoy cooking and often used it. After he passed, I began to use it, and boy, is it the best! The Quiche Lorraine is to die for, and most of all, it's very sentimental to me because scattered throughout the book are notes from my parents; which makes me cherish it even more.

What a great selection of old cookbooks!
I had to go check my shelf real quick to see what my oldest ones were. I too have the first edition Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook...got it at a garage sale for $1. It came complete with extra recipes tucked inside, and yes...some notes along the way too. I also have a collection of ethnic cookbooks from the 60's...How to Chinese, Italian & Greek, along w/a few others...got those for .50 each at a library sale.
My favorite though is The American Woman's Cookbook edited by Ruth Berolzheimer for the Culinary Arts Institute. It was published in 1939, and is full of wonderful color pictures & instructions. The pages are pristine....doesn't look like it was ever used...just moved around alot, as the binding is more worn than the pages! lol

I have my mother's copy of the Charleston Junior League Cookbook from 1951. I can't help but love the recipe that calls for sawing open a turtle shell as the first step.

My latest acquisition is "The Boston School Kitchen Text-Book- Lessons in Cooking for the Use of Schools" by Mrs. D. A. Lincoln from 1911. My sentimental favorite is my dear MIL's annotated copy of "Love and Knishes- An Irrepressible Guide to Jewish Cooking" by Sara Kasdan from 1956. Full of Yiddishisms with chapter titles such as "So from Hunger You Won't Starve (Meats)" and "Papa Called It Grass (Salads)".

The Escoffier Cookbook 1910 i believe. amazing, also, Helen Corbitts first ed. cookbook, maybe my favorite cookbook ever.

The Gold Cook Book by Louis P. De Gouy (1958) is my "newest" old book, but one that I treasure was a wedding gift to my parents in 1952 - The Good House Keeping Cook Book. I'm sure I have others that are older, but these two I actually use from time-to-time.

i have betty crocker's Dinner for two from 1958, tuna and gelatin should never apear in a recipe together...not pretty!

My mother, who not enthusiastic or imaginative about cooking, gave me two of the three cookbooks she owned, which are among my most treasured and used books:

A 1950 edition of "The Talisman Italian Cookbook" - it was a premium from the Ronzoni Macaroni company (still my favorite brand of dried pasta) - you sent in some box tops + a small fee for it. It's a wonderful basic Italian cookbook (it was the best selling cookbook in Italy for decades - their equivalent of "The Joy Of Cooking," and is a translation from the Italian edition.

A 1965 edition of the Settlement Cookbook ("The Way To A Man's Heart" is the tagline) - it was a gift to her from my grandfather.

I also have a 1969 paperback edition of the "Joy Of Cooking" that was given to me decades ago by a relative who was going to throw it out. It's a great edition.

I still rely on many of the Settlement Cookbook & Joy Of Cooking's recipes for cakes, cookies and desserts.

Since I am antiques dealer and collector, I have many neat cookbooks from the 19th century, however, the oldest cookbook that I actually still use is Frugal Gourmet's paperback book from the 1980's.
Still some good recipes in that book!

I, too, have a New Orleans Times Picayune Creole cookbook. Mine was published in 1938 but it was first published in 1901. The cover price is $1.50.

If anyone is interested in the recipe for Baked Sheepshead a la Creole, I can hook you up.

It's the neatest and oldest in our house - the December, 1951 Marquette Golf and Country Club cook book from Marquette MI. I have no idea where it came from or how I got it, since I have never been to MI nor do I have relatives there. It's three ring style and has strange and classic '50s recipes all typed on a type writer, with hand drawn blue pages to separate the different foods. The poem at the front:

There used to be an adage in the dear dead days gone by,
That "Women's place is in the home" we never could see why,
The kitchen was the only place to while away the hours,
New recipes concocted to the tune of "Hearts and Flowers,"
How times have changed, and women too - the man's world is no more.
Women are in businesses they never were before,
And so it just comes naturally that sports have got them too.,
Gold is no except - BUT the cookings still to do,
So to keep the husbands happy, and maintain the home morale,
We offer this collection, it's your Culinary Pal.

1928 Fannie Farmer - should i ever get a craving for Knickerbocker Figs, I am set up.

1929 Modern Priscilla Standard Cook Book. With WASHABLE cover!

my grandmother's finishing school textbook from the 1940s. it's got wonderfully quaint advice on daily menus and how to light a dining room perfectly.

I have about 300 cookbooks from the 30s, 40s and 50s that were my mother's, She was an avid collector. There are plenty of fine recipes and manyunusual obnes by today's standards.As I grow older I've begun placing some on ebay with good results.

My oldest one is Miss Parloa's Kitchen Companion the 1887 edition. The book is in great shape and along with recipes it contains instructions for setting up a kitchen, what furnishings and equipment are required with illustrations of cooking utensils, pots, decorative cutters, etc. My favorite part of the book is the menu section, called "Bills of Fare." She provides menus for each month and special holidays. A suggested lenten dinner: Oysters in a block of Ice, Mock Bisque, Baked Shad with Sauce Hollandaise, Potato Balls, Broiled Salmon Maitre d' Hotel, Green Peas with Butter, Cheese Souffle, Lobster Salad, Cabinet Pudding with Wine Sauce, Frozen Apricots, Caramel Ice-cream, Small Fancy Cakes, Fresh Fruit and Coffee. Where did they put it all????

My oldest cookbook was given to me as a wedding gift in 1966. It's a Watkins book and has some very basic recipes in it. I've used it a lot not only for the recipes, but for reference.

I've noticed that a lot of the older cookbooks were from companies to make you want to use their ingredients or utensils in your cooking.

I've recently decided to get my mother's recipes together into a form that I can share with my family. I'm thinking it would be a great gift to my neices and nephews and my children and grandchildren.

All of my oldest cookbooks have come from my grandmother and great-grandmother. In fact, I just recently got a box out of storage filled with handwritten recipes and cookbooks that I need to sort through. But as of right now some of the oldest are:
The Boston Cooking School Cook Book, 1938
The Settlement Cook Book "The way to a man's heart", 1943
The Rumford Complete Cook Book, 1924...
An interesting side-note inside the Rumford book was a newspaper clipping article titled: "Says Cream of Tartar Will Cure Smallpox"
It also seems Rumford was also a chemical company and so the book has recipes like: "Acid Phosphate Whey"

I think it's The Art of Fine Baking by Paula Peck, copyright 1961.. although I was thinking it was much older than that based on its condition lol

"America's First Cookbook", 1796. You can get a reprint on amazon.com. It is wonderful reading!

Hi I am new here, what a great site. This one caught my eye because I was searching for info on a particular 1908 cookbook. I just got my hands on the original 1st print copy of the 1908 Rumford Complete Cook Book and needed some info about it. I love the fact that some of the recipes are family favorites that have never been printed. I am thinking I might sell it, but want to look at it first. WOW a 100 year old book!!