The Fireside Cook Book: A Complete Guide to Fine Cooking for Beginner and Expert
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1949. First Edition, First Printing.
A Landmark Cookbook Where Midcentury Design Meets American Culinary Authority
An early and influential work by James Beard, presenting over 1,200 recipes alongside vibrant mid-century illustrations by Alice and Martin Provensen. This first edition captures the moment when American home cooking began its transition from tradition to modern culinary identity.
Designed as both instructional manual and visual experience, the book ranges from foundational techniques to international cuisine, reflecting Beard’s expansive culinary philosophy. The Provensens’ illustrations—playful, stylized, and distinctly mid-century—transform the volume into a design object as much as a cookbook, culminating in the dust jacket that unfolds into a large-format decorative kitchen poster.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Brown cloth, printed in color. Quarto; 10 inches tall. Pagination: [1–5], 6–322, [1]. Publisher’s pictorial dust jacket. Color pictorial endpapers. Profusely illustrated with over 400 color drawings by Alice and Martin Provensen.
CONDITION: Very Good / Good-minus. Bindings are tight and square. Text is clean; light, even age-toning. Moderate shelf handling wear. Dust jacket worn at extremities with chips, tears, creases, and rubbing; staining present. The integrated poster shows wear and loss along the center fold. Stain at upper corner of front free endpaper and corresponding rear endpaper.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT / SIGNIFICANCE —
This volume marks an early consolidation of James Beard’s influence as a national culinary authority. His emphasis on approachable technique and broad culinary curiosity helped redefine American cooking in the mid-20th century.
For collectors, the intersection of Beard’s authorship and the Provensens’ illustration places the book at a crossroads of culinary history and design. It appeals not only to cookbook collectors but also to those focused on mid-century illustration, graphic design, and domestic culture.
SUBJECTS: James Beard, Mid-Century Cooking, American Culinary History, Illustrated Cookbooks, Alice and Martin Provensen, Kitchen Design, Domestic Culture, Cookery, Illustrated Books, Americana.
Item #21964
Price: $225.00
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