Courtesy of my friend Kate, who picked up someone's whole life's collection of pamphlets at a tag sale, I now own this vintage 1920s example of routine belittling of non-white Americans and erasure of the unpleasant parts of their history. Well, it was advertising material, yes, but still.  I can't imagine 1920s African-American sugar-cane sharecroppers … Continue reading Personal Recipes of Brer Rabbit, 192?

I was paging through the "Choice Recipes" booklet from Walter Baker & Co. the other day and noticed that one page contains three recipes for fudge, named after three different women's colleges.  Absolutely fascinating.  Are these actually recipes from college cookbooks or yearbooks?  I've no idea.  They were contributed by someone known as Mrs. Janet … Continue reading Woman’s College Fudge, etc. (1916)

That is to say, usage guides and recipes provided by refrigerator manufacturers. Our first item is from 1933: "Cooking With Cold" by the Kelvin Kitchen section of Kelvinator Sales Corporation of Detroit, Michigan.  It's a beautifully designed booklet in what must have been called the "Modern" style (notice the ice cubes in the yellow circle … Continue reading 3 Chilling Vintage Cookery Pamphlets