The Joy of Cooking.

ROMBAUER, Irma S.

Item Number: 2778

St. Louis: A.C. Clayton, 1931.

First edition of this classic cookbook that since publication has sold over 15 million copies. Octavo, original blue cloth. In near fine condition with light wear to the extremities. A very fresh copy, scarce in this condition. Housed in a custom quarter morocco clamshell box.

In 1931, Irma Rombauer announced that she intended to turn her personal collection of recipes and cooking techniques into a cookbook. Cooking could no longer remain a private passion for Irma. She had recently been widowed and needed to find a way to support her family. Irma was a celebrated St. Louis hostess who sensed that she was not alone in her need for a no-nonsense, practical resource in the kitchen. So, mustering what assets she had, she self-published The Joy of Cooking: A Compilation of Reliable Recipes with a Casual Culinary Chat. Out of these unlikely circumstances was born the most authoritative cookbook in America, the book your grandmother and mother probably learned to cook from.