Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volumes 1 & 2.

CHILD, Julia; Beck.

Item Number: 122373

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961 & 1970.

First editions of both volumes of this classic cook book. Quarto, 2 volumes, original illustrated boards. Volume 1 is signed on the half-title page by both Julia Child and Simone Beck. Volume two is signed on the half-title page, “Bon appetit! Julia Child” and additionally signed by Paul Child. Volume one and two with drawings by Sidonie Coryn. Drawings by Paul Child. Both are very good in very good dust jackets, inscription to volume one. Typography, binding and jacket design by Warren Chappell. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.

Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking is arguably the most influential work on French food ever published in the United States. A "self-confessed ham, she became a darling of audiences almost from the moment she made her debut in 1963 at the age of 50" (New York Times). Listed by Time Magazine as one of the top 100 non-fiction books written in English since 1923.