Early Baking Science

Rumford Company

Little Book of Rumford Breads [Practical Home Baking]

The Rumford Company, Providence, R.I.:, c. 1910s–1920s.
A compact promotional cookbook blending early domestic science with practical home baking—issued at a time when branded food products were reshaping American kitchens.

Produced by the Rumford Company’s Department of Home Economics, this booklet promotes the nutritional and functional benefits of phosphate-based baking powder while providing a range of bread recipes intended for everyday household use. Positioned at the intersection of advertising and education, it reflects a period when manufacturers sought to influence domestic practice through scientific authority and instructional literature.

The text emphasizes the role of phosphates in nutrition—an emerging concept in early 20th-century food science—while integrating recipes for graham, rye, corn, and specialty breads. The inclusion of substitution tables and foundational techniques underscores its practical intent, making it both a utilitarian guide and a piece of persuasive brand literature.

DETAILS:
+++ Title: Little Book of Rumford Breads
+++ Issued by: The Rumford Company, Department of Home Economics
+++ Place: Providence, Rhode Island
+++ Date: [c. 1910s–1920s]
+++ Format: Staple-bound booklet
+++ Size: Approx. 5 by 7.25 inches
+++ Pagination: 12 pages

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS:
+++ Early example of branded domestic science publishing
+++ Emphasis on phosphates and nutritional theory in baking
+++ Foundational bread recipe with variations (graham, rye, corn, etc.)
+++ Ingredient substitution chart for non-wheat flours
+++ Integration of product promotion with practical instruction
+++ Rear advertisement offering additional Rumford recipe booklets

CONDITION: Good. Complete and intact. Moderate toning throughout consistent with age. Notable damp-staining to the rear portion, most visible on the final page and lower margins, with some staining extending inward. Light edge wear and handling. Despite condition issues, remains fully legible and structurally sound.

Historical Context —
The Rumford Company, named after Count Rumford (Benjamin Thompson), was a leading producer of baking powder and a key participant in the development of American food science marketing. Through its Department of Home Economics, the company distributed instructional booklets such as this to promote both its product and broader ideas about nutrition and efficient household management.

These publications reflect the early 20th-century movement toward “scientific” cooking, where chemistry and nutrition were increasingly used as selling points. At the same time, they served as accessible, practical guides for home cooks, contributing to the standardization of American baking practices.

Today, such booklets are valued as artifacts of culinary history and advertising, documenting how corporations shaped everyday food culture through education and persuasion.

Subjects: Rumford Baking Powder, home economics, early 20th-century cooking, bread recipes, food science history, advertising ephemera, domestic science, American kitchens, Ephemera, Americana, Culinary.

Item #21824

Price: $12.00