Initially I called this post “Food, Wine & Domestic Life”, which I then changed to “L’Art de vivre”.
For me the French expression conveys something considerably broader and more culturally distinctive, much more than just pleasure, beauty, sophistication, etc.
It also provides a coherent intellectual framework for a collection of books on gastronomy, wine, hospitality, household management and the customs of everyday life. The framework is coherently intellectual, not my collection of books.
I see this as being about “the civilisation of everyday life”, and not just the refinement of individual taste, knowledge and behaviour. For me it is the accumulated traditions, social conventions, skills, aesthetic values and shared pleasures through which a society gives form to everyday existence. I use the word *civilisation” as describing the transformation of ordinary necessities into established cultural practices, rather than a judgment of superiority.
So it is not just a matter of luxury, refinement or good manners, it is more about the cultural significance attached to the way life is lived, experienced and shared. I particularly like the Spanish description “el conocimiento y la capacidad de adaptación del comportamiento de una persona con nosotros y ropa de otros países o culturas” (the knowledge and ability to adapt one’s behavior when interacting with people from other countries or cultures).
The choice of L’Art de vivre as the title of this post also reflects a personal history. Having lived in Europe for more than fifty years, and having shared forty-nine years of marriage with a remarkable French woman, I have come to regard the French art de vivre not simply as a cultural ideal, but as something experienced and appreciated in everyday life. The traditions of food, wine, hospitality and domestic life represented in these books are therefore more than subjects of historical interest, they are also part of a culture that has profoundly shaped my own life.
Just to “lighten the atmosphere” and set the tone, check out…
Books – The Archaeology of Punch Magazine – 1878
(1814) Louise-Augustine Friedel — Le Petit Cuisinier habile, ou l’Art d’apprêter les aliments avec délicatesse et économie
Le Petit Cuisinier habile, ou l’Art d’apprêter les aliments avec délicatesse et économie, by Madame Louise-Augustine Friedel (1758–1818), is a French practical cookery manual published in 1814, during the final years of the First French Empire (1808–1815). The edition is described as revised and enlarged and includes a supplementary treatise devoted to jams and the preservation of fruit and vegetables.
The book is an early example of culinary writing directed towards households wishing to prepare attractive and varied meals without unnecessary expense. Its central principle, expressed in the title, is the combination of délicatesse and économie. That is refinement in the preparation of food, together with careful use of ingredients and household resources.
Louise-Augustine Friedel and early women’s culinary publishing
Louise-Augustine Friedel, also identified in bibliographical literature as Louise-Béate-Augustine Utrecht-Friedel, was born in 1758 and died in 1818.
She was active as an author of practical culinary works during the Napoleonic period. Her publications included Le Confiseur impérial, ou l’Art du confiseur dévoilé aux gourmands, issued in Paris in 1809, and Le Petit Cuisinier habile, documented in an edition of 1814.
Her writing belongs to an important development in French culinary publishing, i.e. the increasing appearance of books written by women and intended for domestic readers.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, many influential French cookbooks had been written by professional male cooks employed in aristocratic or wealthy households. These works frequently described elaborate dishes requiring specialised equipment, expensive ingredients and substantial kitchen staffs.
Friedel’s book adopted a different approach. It presented recipes suitable for household preparation and placed economy alongside culinary quality.
Her work is therefore relevant to the development of domestic cookery as a subject that could be taught through relatively inexpensive printed manuals.
We know she wrote, but we have little information on her private life or professional circumstances.
Publication in 1814
The date of 1814 places the book at a significant moment in French history.
Napoleon I abdicated in April 1814, following the entry of Allied forces into Paris. Louis XVIII subsequently returned to France, beginning the Bourbon Restoration (1815-1830). The political transition followed more than two decades of revolution and warfare, during which France had experienced substantial changes in government, commerce and society.
Food supply was affected by agricultural production, transport conditions, trade restrictions and the demands of military campaigns.
The Continental System, introduced by Napoleon in 1806, attempted to restrict European trade with Britain. Its economic consequences varied considerably between regions and commodities.
The importance of economy in Friedel’s title should be understood within this wider context, although there is no evidence that the book was written specifically in response to the political or economic crisis of 1814.
The Bibliothèque nationale de France identifies the 1814 publication as a revised and enlarged edition, indicating that the text had an earlier publication history.
A separate antiquarian description records a shorter version published at Landau in 1811. The relationship between the different early issues is complicated by variations in title, contents and place of publication.
Delicacy and economy in domestic cooking
The expression avec délicatesse et économie defines the practical philosophy of the work. Friedel’s recipes demonstrate that economical cooking did not necessarily mean plain or uninteresting food.
The book includes preparations using beef, veal, mutton, poultry, game, fish, eggs, vegetables and pastry. It also makes extensive use of sauces, herbs, spices and techniques intended to improve the flavour and presentation of dishes.
The recipes show how familiar ingredients could be prepared in different ways, allowing households to produce variety without relying exclusively on expensive or unusual provisions.
An important feature is the reuse of cooked food. A recipe for bouilli resservi, for example, addresses the preparation of previously boiled meat, while other recipes use leftover meat in hashes, patties and pies.
This reflects the importance of avoiding waste in households where meat, butter, fuel and other provisions represented significant expenditure.
Economy was therefore achieved not simply by purchasing cheaper ingredients but by using them effectively.
Meat, poultry and regional preparations
The surviving text includes a substantial section devoted to viandes et volailles.
Recipes cover veal, beef, mutton, hare, rabbit, pigeon, chicken, turkey, goose and duck. The preparations illustrate a broad range of techniques, including roasting, braising, stewing, frying, marinating and cooking with sauces.
Some recipes refer to regional culinary traditions. A preparation entitled Gasconnade, for example, uses a leg of mutton with garlic and anchovies, reflecting the association of strongly flavoured dishes with Gascony. Other recipes include filets de veau à la provençale and palais de bœuf à la lyonnaise.
These names should not necessarily be interpreted as precise records of traditional regional recipes, e.g. 19th-century culinary terminology frequently used geographical descriptions to identify particular combinations of ingredients or styles of preparation. Nevertheless, they demonstrate the incorporation of regional references into French domestic cooking.
Sauces and the transformation of ordinary ingredients
Sauces play an important role in Friedel’s recipes. They could add flavour, moisture and variety to relatively simple preparations, allowing the same principal ingredient to be served in different ways.
The book includes a sauce piquante fine, prepared with vegetables, herbs, stock and vinegar, intended to accompany various meat dishes. Another preparation, sauce à pauvre homme, illustrates the use of economical accompaniments.
This last one was generally a simple, sharp sauce made with finely chopped shallots or onions, vinegar, water or stock, salt and pepper, sometimes finished with butter or enriched with herbs such as parsley. Finely chopped shallots are cooked or simmered with vinegar and a little liquid, producing a light, acidic accompaniment to otherwise plain food. It was particularly suitable for boiled or roasted meats, leftover meat and certain fish dishes.
Such sauces were not necessarily simple in technique. They required attention to seasoning, reduction, thickening and the balance of flavours. Their inclusion demonstrates how methods associated with established French cuisine could be adapted for domestic use.
Pastry, pies and baked preparations
The book contains a section devoted to pâtés, tourtes et pâtisseries. Its recipes include meat pies, fish pies, small pastries, puff pastry and sweet baked preparations.
One recipe explains the preparation of puff pastry through repeated rolling and folding, a technique designed to create alternating layers of dough and fat. Other recipes describe pies filled with cooked meat, fish, truffles, foie gras or anchovies.
These preparations show that Friedel’s concept of economical cooking did not exclude elaborate or fashionable dishes. Instead, the book presents a range of possibilities that could be selected according to the ingredients available and the resources of the household.
Confectionery and food preservation
The 1814 edition includes a supplementary treatise on jams and the preservation of fruit and vegetables. This is a particularly interesting feature because it extends the work beyond the preparation of meals to the management of seasonal food supplies.
The preservation of fruit was important before mechanical refrigeration and modern commercial food distribution. Methods included drying, preserving in sugar or honey, and storing selected varieties under carefully controlled conditions.
The surviving text describes techniques for keeping pears, apples and grapes, including drying fruit and protecting individual specimens from damage. It also explains the clarification of sugar before making preserves.
Such instructions reflect practical experience with the behaviour of fruit during ripening and storage. Some recommendations were based on contemporary explanations of preservation that differed from modern food science, but the techniques remain valuable evidence of historical household practice.
The inclusion of preserves also connects Friedel’s book with her earlier work on confectionery.
The small format and intended readership
This relatively small format was suitable for a practical manual intended to be consulted frequently. Unlike large illustrated gastronomic publications, a compact cookbook could be kept conveniently among household possessions and used when preparing meals.
Its size and emphasis on economy suggest an audience interested in accessible domestic instruction rather than the display of expensive culinary books. However, literacy, income and access to printed books varied considerably across French society.
The present copy: binding and condition
The present volume was acquired at auction in 2026 for a hammer price of €50.
The catalogue identifies it as an 1814 Paris edition published Chez l’Auteur. It is described as an in-16 volume in a modern half-binding (demi-reliure moderne).
The original title page is missing, which is a significant bibliographical defect because the title page normally provides the authoritative evidence for the edition, publisher, place and date of publication.
The attribution to Friedel and the identification of the 1814 edition are supported by the auction description and by independently catalogued copies of the work, but the present volume’s precise issue cannot be verified from its missing title page.
Historical significance
Le Petit Cuisinier habile is an important example of practical French culinary literature published during the Napoleonic period.
Its author, Louise-Augustine Friedel, belongs to an early generation of women whose published cookbooks contributed to the development of domestic culinary instruction.
The work’s central emphasis on delicacy and economy reflects the attempt to reconcile culinary quality with the practical constraints of household management.
Its recipes provide evidence of the ingredients, techniques and preparations considered suitable for domestic readers in the early 19th century.
The inclusion of a supplementary treatise on preserves extends its interest to the history of food storage and seasonal household economy.
(1822) Albert — L’Art de la Ménagère ou Manuel complet d’Économie domestique
L’Art de la Ménagère ou Manuel complet d’Économie domestique, attributed to Albert and published in Paris by Babeuf in 1822, is an early 19th-century French manual devoted to cookery and the practical management of the household. Its subjects include the preparation of food, charcuterie, pastry-making, the organisation of the kitchen and pantry, cooking for the sick, cases of poisoning and the management of wine cellars.
The work belongs to a period when domestic economy was understood as a broad collection of practical skills rather than a narrowly defined subject. Preparing meals, preserving provisions, maintaining kitchen equipment, caring for members of the household and managing expenditure were closely connected responsibilities.
The author and the question of attribution
The auction catalogue identifies the author simply as Albert, without a forename or initials. An early 19th-century French culinary author, B. Albert, is associated with another work published by Babeuf in 1822, Le Cuisinier parisien, ou Manuel complet d’économie domestique. That publication includes subjects closely resembling those listed in the description of the present volume.
Publication in France in 1822
The book appeared during the Bourbon Restoration (1815-1830), under Louis XVIII, who reigned from 1814 to 1824, apart from Napoleon’s brief return to power during the Hundred Days in 1815.
France was emerging from more than two decades of revolution and warfare. Although political institutions had changed repeatedly, many aspects of everyday life continued to evolve through the expansion of commerce, urban markets, domestic publishing and new methods of production.
Paris was already an important centre of European culinary culture. Its restaurants, professional cooks, food markets and specialist trades contributed to the development of a substantial literature devoted to food preparation and dining.
The publication of domestic manuals also reflected the growth of an educated readership interested in practical instruction. Such books made it possible to consult written advice on subjects that had often been learned through family experience, domestic service or professional apprenticeship.
What was meant by domestic economy?
The expression économie domestique encompassed the organisation and management of the household. In the early 19th century, this involved more than the preparation of meals or the reduction of expenditure. It included the acquisition and storage of provisions, the appropriate use of ingredients, the preservation of food, the supervision of domestic work and the maintenance of equipment.
The household was an economic unit in which considerable time, labour and resources were devoted to activities that are now often performed through commercial services.
Cooking required fuel, utensils, storage space and regular access to food supplies. Washing, cleaning and preserving provisions involved substantial manual labour. In larger households, these activities could be divided among domestic servants, while families with fewer resources performed much of the work themselves.
Domestic manuals attempted to organise this practical knowledge and present it in a form that readers could consult when required. The title L’Art de la Ménagère reflects the contemporary ideal of competent household management. The term ménagère referred to a woman responsible for the practical administration of a home, although the range of tasks and available resources differed greatly between households.
Cookery and the management of provisions
In 1822, domestic food preparation depended on equipment and techniques very different from those of a modern kitchen. Open hearths, charcoal stoves and other fuel-burning apparatus were widely used. Temperature regulation required practical experience, and cooking times could vary according to the equipment, the fuel and the size of the preparation.
The availability of ingredients was also influenced by season, geography and household income. In the countryside, some households obtained vegetables, eggs, poultry and other provisions through their own production or nearby farms. Urban households relied more heavily on markets, specialist retailers and commercial distribution.
A practical manual could help readers organise these supplies, select suitable cooking methods and make economical use of ingredients. The importance of economy should not be understood as a restriction to inexpensive food. It also involved avoiding waste, planning meals and making effective use of labour, equipment and fuel.
Charcuterie and the preparation of meat
Charcuterie was an important branch of French food preparation. The term encompassed the processing, seasoning, cooking and preservation of meat, particularly pork. Preparations could include sausages, pâtés, salted meats and other products intended for immediate consumption or storage.
Before mechanical refrigeration, preservation techniques were especially important. Salting, smoking, drying and cooking helped extend the useful life of perishable provisions. Such methods required considerable practical knowledge. The quantity of salt, the duration of treatment, the surrounding temperature and the condition of the meat could all affect the result.
The inclusion of charcuterie in a household manual demonstrates that domestic food management extended beyond preparing individual meals. It could also involve processing provisions for future use. Historical instructions concerning meat preservation should be read as evidence of contemporary practice rather than assumed to meet modern food-safety standards.
Pastry-making and the organisation of the kitchen
Pastry-making was another specialised branch of French culinary practice. It required familiarity with different types of dough, the preparation of fillings, the use of fats and the management of oven temperatures.
In professional kitchens, pastry-making could be distinguished from other culinary activities because of the equipment and techniques involved. Its inclusion in a domestic manual reflects the importance of pastry in both everyday food preparation and more elaborate dining.
The auction description of the book also refers to office, a term with a particular meaning in historical French household organisation. In a substantial household, the office was an area or department associated with the preparation, storage and presentation of certain foods and refreshments. Depending on the establishment, it could be concerned with cold preparations, desserts, fruits, preserves and the equipment used in serving meals.
The distinction between the kitchen and the office illustrates the organisation of domestic work in larger establishments. It also helps explain why culinary manuals frequently extended beyond recipes to include instructions concerning utensils, storage and service.
Cooking for the sick
The inclusion of cuisine des malades is particularly characteristic of domestic literature from this period. Before modern hospital services and professional nursing became widely accessible, much care for sick family members took place within the household.
Food was considered an important part of treatment and recovery. Special preparations might be recommended for people with reduced appetite, digestive difficulties or general weakness. The methods and ingredients used reflected contemporary medical ideas about digestion, nourishment and the restorative properties of particular foods.
The distinction between ordinary cooking and food prepared for invalids was therefore an established feature of practical household instruction. Such material is valuable for understanding historical attitudes towards illness and care, although its medical assumptions cannot be accepted uncritically today.
Poisoning and household emergencies
The auction catalogue for this book specifically mentions cas d’empoisonnement. This is an important indication of the wide scope of the manual. Domestic economy was not confined to food preparation but could also include advice on accidents and emergencies.
Early 19th-century households encountered potential hazards from spoiled or poisonous foods, medicinal substances, household chemicals, smoke and heating equipment.
The study of poisons was developing as a medical and scientific discipline during this period. Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila (1787–1853), a physician and chemist associated with the development of modern toxicology, published his influential Traité des poisons in 1814–1815. His work helped establish a more systematic approach to the chemical investigation of poisonous substances.
The inclusion of poisoning in a household manual illustrates the attempt to make practical medical advice available outside professional medical circles. However, the specific remedies recommended in this book have not yet been examined. They should be treated as historical evidence, not as guidance for present-day emergencies.
Wine and cellar management
The reference to conduite de la cave shows that the book also addressed the management of wine and other stored provisions.
Wine was an established component of French domestic consumption and hospitality. Its purchase, storage and service could represent an important household expense. Cellar management involved attention to temperature, humidity, ventilation, the position of bottles and the condition of storage vessels.
Wine could deteriorate through exposure to excessive heat, unsuitable storage conditions or contamination. In larger households, the cellar might contain substantial quantities of wine purchased for future consumption. Managing these stocks required practical knowledge and careful organisation.
The inclusion of cellar management within a domestic manual reflects the close relationship between cookery, hospitality and the administration of household resources.
The development of domestic manuals
The early 19th century saw increasing publication of books devoted to practical household instruction. These works formed part of a wider movement towards the systematic presentation of useful knowledge.
Recipes and techniques that had previously been transmitted through direct instruction could be collected, classified and published for readers who did not possess specialist training.
Domestic manuals often combined information that would now be divided among cookbooks, housekeeping guides, medical handbooks and technical reference works. Their contents were not necessarily based on a consistent scientific method. Practical experience, established custom, traditional remedies and newer scientific ideas frequently appeared together.
This mixture makes such books particularly useful to historians. They document not only the techniques available at the time but also contemporary beliefs about what constituted reliable and useful knowledge.
The binding and condition of the present copy
The present volume is described as an octavo (in-8) in contemporary calf (veau du temps).
The spine is richly decorated with small gilt finishing tools, a characteristic feature of French bookbinding during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The decoration was produced by pressing heated metal tools into the leather, often over gold leaf, to create ornamental patterns.
The catalogue records considerable wear, including a loss of leather on the spine.
It also mentions damp-staining (mouillures), foxing (rousseurs) and a restored leaf of the table of contents. Damp-staining results from past exposure to moisture and may leave visible tide marks or discolouration. Foxing consists of brownish spotting associated with chemical and environmental processes affecting paper.
The restoration of an index leaf is particularly worth documenting, since it may involve repairs to damaged paper or the reconstruction of missing material.
The catalogue describes the volume as sold dans l’état, meaning that it was offered in its existing condition.
Historical significance
L’Art de la Ménagère ou Manuel complet d’Économie domestique is an interesting example of the broad practical literature associated with household management in early nineteenth-century France. The work therefore provides a useful perspective on the responsibilities associated with managing a household in 1822.
It also illustrates the relationship between professional culinary knowledge, domestic practice and the expanding market for printed manuals. The inclusion of food preservation, medical emergencies and cellar management demonstrates that domestic economy was understood as a comprehensive body of practical knowledge rather than simply a collection of recipes.
(1867) Louis-Eustache Audot — La Cuisinière de la campagne et de la ville
La Cuisinière de la campagne et de la ville, ou Nouvelle Cuisine économique, by Louis-Eustache Audot (1783–1870), is one of the enduring French domestic cookery manuals of the 19th century. First published in 1818 and repeatedly revised and enlarged, it was intended to provide practical instruction in the preparation of meals, the economical use of ingredients, the organisation of household dining and the preservation of food. The present copy was published in Paris by Audot in 1867, nearly fifty years after the work first appeared.
The book is particularly interesting because it was written for ordinary domestic use rather than exclusively for professional cooks or wealthy households employing elaborate kitchen staffs. Its title explicitly addresses both the countryside and the town, reflecting the author’s intention to make culinary knowledge accessible to households operating under different economic and practical circumstances.
Louis-Eustache Audot and the origins of the book
Louis-Eustache Audot was born in 1783 and died in 1870. He was a French bookseller, publisher and author whose name became closely associated with practical cookery and domestic instruction. His publishing activity developed during a period when printed manuals were increasingly used to communicate specialised knowledge to a broader reading public.
La Cuisinière de la campagne et de la ville first appeared in Paris in 1818. Early editions identified the author only by the initials L.-E. A., and the work was subsequently revised with the assistance of Sulpice Barué, described on the title page of the eighth edition of 1829 as a professional chef. Audot’s full name appeared on the title page from the fortieth edition in 1860.
The frequent revisions were a central feature of the publication’s success. Rather than allowing the book to remain unchanged, successive editions incorporated additional recipes, illustrations, utensils and cooking methods. This helped maintain its usefulness as household practices and culinary fashions developed.
The publication history is unusually extensive. By 1837, the book had reached its twenty-first edition. The thirty-ninth edition appeared in 1859, the forty-fourth in 1864 and the fifty-second in 1873. By 1887, it had reached its sixty-fifth edition, demonstrating a sustained demand over almost seventy years.
These edition numbers should not be interpreted automatically as evidence of sixty-five entirely separate or substantially different texts. Publishers could count successive impressions and revised issues within the same numbered sequence. Nevertheless, the longevity of the work is clear.
A practical manual for town and country
The distinction between campagne and ville is important. In early 19th-century France, the conditions of food preparation differed substantially between rural and urban households.
Country households might have more direct access to vegetables, fruit, eggs, poultry, game and locally produced dairy products. Seasonal availability, household production and the preservation of surplus food could play important roles in determining what was eaten throughout the year.
Urban households depended more heavily on markets, commercial suppliers and specialised food retailers. Their arrangements varied according to income, accommodation and access to domestic servants. In both settings, however, the efficient use of ingredients and the avoidance of waste were important considerations.
Audot’s subtitle, Nouvelle Cuisine économique, identifies economy as a principal objective. The term did not mean merely preparing inexpensive meals. It also referred to the efficient management of provisions, the appropriate selection of ingredients, the use of leftovers and the organisation of meals according to the resources available.
The work was therefore intended to be consulted as a practical reference book. It combined instructions for preparing individual dishes with guidance on the wider activities associated with running a household kitchen.
The recipes and culinary organisation
The recipes cover a broad range of French domestic cooking, including soups, meat, poultry, game, fish, vegetables, sauces, pastries, desserts and preserved foods. The book also addresses methods of preparing and serving dishes, making it more comprehensive than a simple collection of recipes.
Its culinary range reflects the coexistence of several traditions. Some recipes belong to the established repertoire of French bourgeois cuisine, while others concern simpler dishes suitable for everyday domestic use. The emphasis on economy encouraged the use of ingredients already available in the household and the adaptation of preparations to different circumstances.
The book also reflects the importance of meat and poultry in 19th-century French dining. Instructions concerning the preparation and carving of joints, birds and other dishes formed part of the practical knowledge expected in households where food was presented and divided at the table.
Fish, vegetables and egg dishes were equally important components of the repertoire. The organisation of meals was influenced by religious observance, particularly the distinction between jours gras and jours maigres. On days of abstinence, Catholic practice restricted the consumption of meat, encouraging alternative preparations based on fish, eggs and vegetables.
Later editions also included dishes associated with other European culinary traditions, including English, German, Flemish, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Italian cooking, as well as French regional cuisines such as those of Provence and Languedoc. This widening repertoire demonstrates the increasing exchange of culinary ideas during the 19th century.
It should be noted that later editions advertised approximately 1,500 recipes, but that figure should not automatically be applied to every earlier edition.
The organisation and service of meals
An important characteristic of the work is its attention to the service of food as well as its preparation. During the 19th century, French dining practices underwent substantial changes. The older service à la française involved arranging several dishes on the table simultaneously, often in elaborate symmetrical patterns. The increasingly fashionable service à la russe introduced the sequential presentation of dishes, with food served in courses rather than displayed together.
These changes affected the work of cooks and domestic servants, the arrangement of dining rooms and the manner in which meals were presented. Audot’s manual belongs to this changing world of domestic dining. Its later editions include instructions concerning table service, the arrangement of dishes, the duties of servants and the carving of meat at the table.
Carving was regarded as a practical and social skill. Instructions and illustrations explained how to divide different joints and birds, helping readers present food appropriately and distribute portions without unnecessary waste. The book’s concern with these matters demonstrates that domestic cookery was understood as part of a wider system of household management, involving preparation, presentation, service and economy.
Food preservation and household economy
The preservation of food was another important subject in 19th-century domestic manuals. Before mechanical refrigeration became widely available, households relied on techniques such as salting, drying, smoking, pickling, preserving in sugar and storing food under suitable conditions.
The development of heat preservation in sealed containers was also significant. Nicolas Appert (1749–1841) had published his method of preserving food through heating in sealed containers in 1810, providing an important foundation for modern canning. Audot’s work belongs to the period when traditional preservation techniques coexisted with newer methods and a growing interest in applying scientific knowledge to domestic practice.
The book’s wider treatment of household economy included the care of provisions and, in successive editions, advice concerning the storage of wines and the management of cellars. Such material reflects the broad scope of domestic cookery manuals, which frequently extended beyond the preparation of meals to encompass the management of food supplies.
French cuisine in the 19th century
The publication history of La Cuisinière de la campagne et de la ville spans a period of major developments in French gastronomy. At the beginning of the 19th century, French professional cooking was strongly influenced by the elaborate culinary traditions associated with aristocratic households and the work of chefs such as Marie-Antoine Carême (1784–1833). Carême became particularly famous for his highly organised approach to sauces, elaborate dishes and architectural pastry constructions.
At the same time, the growth of restaurants, hotels and urban middle-class households created demand for forms of cookery that were less elaborate but still reflected the prestige of French cuisine.
Practical manuals helped transmit culinary knowledge beyond professional kitchens. They explained techniques and recipes to readers who might have limited formal training, making written instructions increasingly important in domestic food preparation. Audot’s book belongs to this broader development. Its emphasis on economy, accessibility and repeated revision distinguishes it from publications concerned principally with the most elaborate forms of professional cuisine.
The 1867 edition appeared during the Second French Empire (1852-1870), under Napoleon III, when France was experiencing industrial expansion, railway development and significant urban transformation. Improvements in transport and commercial distribution gradually altered the availability of food in towns and cities, although these changes were uneven and did not eliminate seasonal or regional differences.
Illustrations and the development of the editions
Illustrations were an important feature of the book from its early publication history. The eighth edition of 1829 advertised nine engraved plates, including one coloured plate. Later editions incorporated increasing numbers of figures, particularly to demonstrate utensils, cooking equipment, carving techniques and the presentation of dishes.
By 1864, the forty-fourth edition was advertised with approximately 300 figures within the text. Later 19th-century editions contained still more illustrations, reflecting the growing importance of visual instruction in practical publishing.
The illustrations served a different purpose from those in luxurious gastronomic books. Rather than concentrating primarily on decorative representations of finished dishes, many explained practical techniques or identified equipment.
The physical book and its binding
The present copy was published in Paris by Audot in 1867 and is described as an in-12 volume, bound in later half-calf (demi-basane postérieure).
The duodecimo format was well suited to a practical household manual. Such books could be kept conveniently in a domestic library or near the areas in which they were consulted, rather than requiring the space associated with large illustrated folios.
The term demi-basane indicates a half-leather binding, generally with sheepskin covering the spine and sometimes the corners, while the boards are covered in another material. The word postérieure establishes that the binding was applied after publication, rather than being contemporary with the original issue.
The later binding may reflect prolonged use or an attempt by a previous owner to preserve the book, although the reason for rebinding cannot be established from the auction description.
The catalogue also records substantial foxing and minor defects. Foxing consists of brownish spotting that may result from chemical changes in the paper or environmental conditions, including moisture. Its presence is common in nineteenth-century books, although its extent and effect on the printed material vary considerably.
The combination of a later binding and signs of use is consistent with the history of a practical manual that may have been consulted over many years.
Historical and bibliographical significance
La Cuisinière de la campagne et de la ville is significant as one of the long-running French cookery manuals of the 19th century. Its repeated publication from 1818 into the late 19th century demonstrates the continuing demand for accessible instruction in domestic cooking and household economy.
The work provides evidence of the ingredients, dishes, cooking methods and serving practices presented to French households during a period of considerable social and economic change. Its attention to economy, preservation, table service and practical technique gives it a wider historical value than a collection of recipes alone.
It also illustrates the increasing importance of printed manuals in the transmission of domestic knowledge. Culinary practices that had traditionally been learned through observation and experience could increasingly be consulted in organised, illustrated reference works.
The present 1867 edition is of particular interest because it appeared during the author’s lifetime, almost fifty years after the original publication, and before the later editions of the 1870s and 1880s further enlarged the work.
(1873) Emmeline Raymond — La Bonne Ménagère
La Bonne Ménagère, published in Paris by Firmin-Didot in 1873, is a practical manual of French household management, cookery and domestic economy written by Madame Emmeline Raymond. First published in 1867, the book belongs to a growing body of 19th-century literature intended to instruct women in the management of the household, combining practical advice with contemporary expectations of domestic responsibility, economy and social behaviour.
Although its title suggests a general manual of housekeeping, the work includes substantial material on food preparation, table service and culinary practices, together with advice on personal care, household remedies and domestic chemistry. It is therefore of interest both as an early domestic manual and as a source for understanding everyday life in 19th-century France.
Emmeline Raymond and her literary career
Emmeline Raymond was born in 1820 and became a prolific French writer, journalist and editor. She was closely associated with La Mode illustrée, a French illustrated women’s periodical founded in 1860, to which she contributed articles and fiction. The publication combined fashion, needlework, domestic advice, literary material and information intended for women and families.
Raymond also directed the Bibliothèque des mères de famille, a publishing collection intended to provide instructive and morally acceptable reading for young women. The collection included works by several female writers, while Raymond herself contributed numerous volumes.
Her literary output was not restricted to domestic manuals. She also wrote novels and other works, including Un Mariage parisien, Les Rêves dangereux and Le Secret des Parisiennes. Her career illustrates the expanding opportunities available to women writers in 19th-century French periodical and commercial publishing, particularly in fields associated with family life, education and domestic culture.
Her work was closely connected with the development of a substantial female readership. Illustrated magazines, practical manuals and inexpensive book series offered publishers a growing market among educated middle-class households. Raymond’s writing combined practical instruction with the moral and social expectations of that readership.
The publication and its intended readers
La Bonne Ménagère first appeared in 1867, published by Firmin-Didot in Paris. A second edition followed in 1868, a third edition was recorded in 1872, and a fourth appeared in 1876. The present copy is dated 1873, placing it within the early publication history of the work, although its precise edition statement remains to be verified.
The book formed part of the Bibliothèque des mères de famille, a collection associated with Raymond’s editorial work. The series was intended to provide practical and instructive reading for women, especially those responsible for managing a household.
The publisher, Firmin-Didot, belonged to one of France’s best-established printing and publishing families. The Didot family’s activities extended from the 18th century into the 19th and included typography, printing, publishing and the production of educational and reference works. The firm was particularly associated with high standards of typography and printing, as well as the publication of works for a broad educated readership.
The appearance of La Bonne Ménagère within this publishing environment reflects the growing commercial importance of practical domestic literature. Such books were intended to be consulted repeatedly rather than read only once, providing advice on everyday activities and household problems.
She also published in 1886 Le nouveau livre de cuisine : recettes pratiques, recueillies et classées.
The contents: cookery and domestic economy
The book combines several aspects of domestic management that are often treated separately in modern publications. Contemporary descriptions identify recipes, table etiquette, the carving of meat, the preparation of drinks, personal care, household remedies and a section devoted to domestic chemistry.
Cookery occupies an important place in the work. Nineteenth-century French household manuals commonly distinguished between elaborate professional cuisine and the practical requirements of domestic cooking. Their purpose was to explain how meals could be prepared economically and reliably using the ingredients, utensils and methods available in ordinary households.
The preparation and presentation of food were also closely connected with social behaviour. Table etiquette, invitations and the proper service of meals were considered important aspects of respectable domestic life. A household was judged not only by the quality of its food but also by the orderliness of its arrangements and the behaviour of those responsible for entertaining guests.
The book’s discussion of carving meat is particularly characteristic of 19th-century dining practices. Before the widespread adoption of modern arrangements for portioning and serving food, the ability to carve joints, poultry and other dishes at the table was regarded as a useful social skill. The work includes thirteen illustrations associated with this subject, showing how different meats should be divided and served.
Coffee, tea and chocolate also appear among the subjects discussed. These drinks had become established elements of European domestic consumption, although their preparation and presentation continued to carry social associations. Advice on serving them belonged naturally alongside instructions concerning meals and hospitality.
The inclusion of personal care, remedies and domestic chemistry demonstrates the broad meaning of household economy during the period. A domestic manual could address cleaning, the treatment of stains, the care of fabrics, minor illnesses and other practical problems encountered in managing a home.
The section entitled Chimie domestique is especially interesting from the perspective of the history of applied science. During the 19th century, chemical knowledge was increasingly incorporated into household practices, including cleaning, laundering, food preservation and the preparation of everyday materials. Domestic manuals helped communicate selected aspects of this knowledge to readers without specialist scientific training.
The presence of such material does not make La Bonne Ménagère a scientific textbook. Its purpose was practical, applying contemporary knowledge and customary methods to problems of household management.
Domestic life in 19th-century France
The book appeared during the Second French Empire (1852–1870), and continued to be published during the early years of the Third Republic (1870–1940). This was a period of substantial economic and social change, including industrialisation, urban growth, improvements in transport and the expansion of commercial publishing.
French households varied enormously in their resources and organisation. Wealthier families might employ several domestic servants, while middle-class households often depended on a smaller number of servants or on the direct work of family members. Working-class households generally operated with more limited financial resources and different domestic arrangements.
Manuals such as La Bonne Ménagère were principally directed towards literate households able to purchase books and apply the advice they contained. They should not be regarded as descriptions of the living conditions of the entire French population.
The ideal of the bonne ménagère, or good housewife and household manager, reflected a particular understanding of women’s responsibilities. The management of food, clothing, household expenditure, cleanliness and family welfare was commonly presented as a central female duty.
Domestic economy was therefore not simply a matter of reducing expenditure. It encompassed the organisation of labour, the appropriate use of household resources, the maintenance of social standards and the health and comfort of family members.
Such literature also reveals the gender expectations of the period. Although women were increasingly active in education, publishing, commerce and other occupations, domestic manuals continued to present the household as their principal sphere of responsibility.
Raymond’s own career provides an interesting contrast. She was a professional writer and editor whose publications instructed other women in domestic responsibilities, demonstrating that the production of domestic literature could itself provide women with a public and commercial role.
The development of domestic science
One of the broader historical interests of La Bonne Ménagère is its place in the development of domestic economy as a subject of systematic instruction.
During the 19th century, household management was increasingly presented as a body of knowledge that could be taught through books, periodicals and educational courses. Subjects previously transmitted mainly through family experience and apprenticeship were organised into written instructions and practical rules.
Cookery was particularly suited to this development. Recipes could specify ingredients, quantities, preparation methods and cooking times, allowing techniques to be communicated beyond the immediate household.
Other aspects of domestic management were also becoming more systematic. Advice concerning hygiene, ventilation, food storage and cleaning increasingly drew upon developments in medicine, chemistry and public health, although older customary practices continued to appear alongside newer scientific ideas.
The relationship between domestic literature and scientific knowledge was therefore uneven. Some recommendations reflected useful practical experience, while others were based on theories or remedies that would subsequently be revised or rejected.
This makes 19th-century domestic manuals valuable historical sources, but their medical, chemical and hygienic recommendations should not automatically be regarded as reliable by modern standards.
The physical book and its binding
The present copy was published in Paris by Didot in 1873 and was described in the auction catalogue as an in-12 volume bound in contemporary half-morocco (demi-chagrin du temps).
The term in-12, or duodecimo, originally refers to a format produced by folding a printed sheet into twelve leaves, giving twenty-four pages. In nineteenth-century bibliographical descriptions it is also used to identify relatively small book formats, suitable for practical manuals intended for regular consultation.
The demi-chagrin binding consists of leather, typically covering the spine and corners, combined with boards covered in another material. The leather has a characteristic granular surface and was widely used in nineteenth-century bookbinding.
The designation du temps indicates that the binding is considered contemporary with the publication. This is significant because practical manuals were frequently handled and sometimes rebound after extensive use.
Bibliographical descriptions of other early editions record approximately 377 pages and thirteen illustrations. The small format would have made the book convenient to keep in a household and consult when required. Unlike large illustrated presentation volumes, domestic manuals were generally designed for practical use.
Historical and bibliographical significance
La Bonne Ménagère is of interest as an example of the practical literature produced for French households during the second half of the nineteenth century. It combines cookery, etiquette, household management and applied domestic knowledge within a single volume.
The book provides evidence of the skills and responsibilities expected of women in educated French households, as well as the growing importance of printed manuals in communicating domestic knowledge.
Its culinary material is particularly relevant to the history of French food culture. Rather than concentrating exclusively on the elaborate cuisine of professional chefs, the work addresses the preparation, presentation and management of food within the home.
The sections dealing with remedies and domestic chemistry extend its interest beyond gastronomy, illustrating the relationship between everyday household practices and contemporary ideas about hygiene, medicine and applied science.
The book also belongs to the history of women’s publishing. Emmeline Raymond was an established journalist and editor who contributed to the development of a substantial market for literature directed towards women and families.
The present copy was acquired at auction in July 2026 as part of a lot containing three nineteenth-century French domestic and cookery books: La Cuisinière de la campagne et de la ville (1867), La Bonne Ménagère (1873) and Le Nouveau Livre de Cuisine (1890). The combined hammer price for the three volumes was €30.
(1879) Louis Loire — Les Joyeux Propos de table
Les Joyeux Propos de table. Anecdotes, bons mots, traits plaisants, boutades entremêlés de curieuses recettes culinaires, collected by Louis Loire and published in Paris by Dentu in 1879, is a work of French gastronomic literature combining entertaining anecdotes, humorous observations and unusual culinary recipes.
Unlike conventional cookbooks, its principal subject is not the systematic preparation of meals but the social and literary culture surrounding food and dining. The book belongs to a tradition in which the pleasures of the table included conversation, wit, storytelling and the exchange of culinary knowledge.
Published during the early years of the French Third Republic (1879-1940), it offers a perspective on the relationship between gastronomy, sociability and literary entertainment in nineteenth-century France.
Louis Loire and the literature of anecdotes
Louis Loire was a French writer and compiler associated with collections of literary, theatrical and Parisian anecdotes. His other publications include Anecdotes de la vie littéraire, published in 1876, and collections concerning Parisian life and the theatre.
These works demonstrate his interest in collecting short narratives, memorable remarks and amusing incidents associated with public and cultural life.
The title page of Les Joyeux Propos de table describes the contents as recueillis par Louis Loire — collected by Louis Loire. This distinction matters. The book should be understood primarily as a compilation rather than as an original collection of recipes or a continuous narrative written entirely by its named compiler.
Loire’s contribution lay in the selection and presentation of material intended to amuse readers interested in gastronomy and the social pleasures of dining.
His precise biographical dates have not been securely established here, and they are therefore omitted.
Publication in Paris in 1879
The book was published in Paris by Dentu in 1879, during the presidency of Jules Grévy and the early consolidation of the Third Republic.
The publisher Dentu was associated with a substantial output of literary, political and popular works during the 19th century.
By the late 1870s, Paris possessed a highly developed restaurant culture, supported by established cafés, fashionable dining establishments, specialist food shops and a growing literature devoted to gastronomy.
Dining also played an important role in professional and social relationships. Public banquets, private dinners, literary gatherings and restaurant meals provided occasions for conversation and the exchange of stories.
Loire’s book reflects this environment by treating food and conversation as closely connected forms of entertainment.
The French tradition of table conversation
The expression propos de table refers to remarks, stories and conversations exchanged during a meal.
In French literary culture, the dinner table had long been associated with sociability and wit. The ability to tell an amusing story, deliver a memorable remark or contribute intelligently to a conversation was regarded as an important social accomplishment.
Such exchanges could involve literature, politics, theatre, personal rivalries, unusual incidents and observations about human behaviour.
Collections of anecdotes allowed readers to encounter this conversational culture in printed form. They also provided material that could be remembered and repeated in company.
Loire’s book belongs to this tradition, presenting a selection of stories and remarks whose entertainment value was linked to their suitability for social conversation.
Anecdotes, bons mots and boutades
The subtitle distinguishes several forms of humorous or entertaining material.
Anecdotes are short narratives describing particular incidents, often involving recognisable individuals or unusual circumstances.
Bons mots are witty remarks or expressions valued for their brevity, ingenuity or unexpected meaning.
Traits plaisants are amusing observations or incidents, while boutades are spontaneous or deliberately provocative remarks, often expressed with humour.
These distinctions illustrate the variety of material associated with 19th-century collections of conversational entertainment. The stories could be read privately, but their form also made them suitable for retelling. The book therefore occupied a position between literary amusement and the social practice of conversation.
Gastronomy as a literary subject
By 1879, gastronomy had become an established subject of French literary and cultural discussion. An important earlier figure was Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière (1758–1837), whose L’Almanach des gourmands, first published in 1803, combined culinary criticism, practical observations and entertaining commentary.
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755–1826) subsequently published Physiologie du goût in 1825, a work that approached eating through reflections on taste, appetite, society and human behaviour.
These authors helped establish a tradition in which food was considered not simply a necessity or a craft but a subject worthy of intellectual and literary attention. Loire’s collection belongs to this broader tradition, although it is more directly concerned with anecdote and amusement than with systematic reflection on gastronomy.
Its emphasis on conversation demonstrates the importance attached to the social circumstances of eating.
The curious culinary recipes
The subtitle promises curieuses recettes culinaires. i.e. curious or unusual culinary recipes interspersed among the anecdotes.
Their presence distinguishes the book from a purely literary collection of humorous stories. The recipes contribute to the gastronomic character of the volume while also providing variety within the text.
The adjective curieuses suggests that the preparations were selected partly for their unusual or entertaining character rather than solely for everyday usefulness. Their inclusion demonstrates the close relationship between practical culinary knowledge and gastronomic entertainment in the period. A recipe could be appreciated not only as an instruction for preparing food but also as a subject of conversation.
Restaurants, banquets and sociability
During the 19th century, restaurants became increasingly important settings for urban social life. Although restaurants had existed in Paris before the French Revolution, their number and variety expanded considerably during the following decades. They offered opportunities for dining outside the private household and provided meeting places for writers, artists, journalists, politicians and members of the commercial professions.
The banquet also remained an important form of social gathering. Meals could commemorate events, celebrate achievements, reinforce professional relationships or provide occasions for political and literary discussion. In such settings, conversation formed an essential part of the occasion.
Loire’s collection reflects the idea that a successful meal depended not only on the quality of the food but also on the entertainment and sociability of those assembled around the table.
The relationship between food and humour
Food has frequently provided material for humour because eating is both a universal necessity and a highly developed social activity. Differences in appetite, taste, manners, extravagance and culinary preference offer opportunities for satire and amusing observation. The dinner table also brings together individuals whose social positions, personalities and opinions may differ. The resulting conversations can generate memorable remarks and stories.
Loire’s combination of anecdotes and recipes illustrates how gastronomic literature could appeal to readers interested in human behaviour as much as in cooking. The book is therefore relevant to the history of humour and sociability as well as to the history of food.
The present copy: binding and condition
The present copy is described as an in-12 volume in contemporary green cloth (toile verte du temps). The auction catalogue records dampstaining (mouillures).
Historical significance
Les Joyeux Propos de table represents a distinctive branch of 19th-century French gastronomic literature. Rather than concentrating on culinary instruction, it presents food and dining as subjects of literary amusement and social conversation.
Its mixture of anecdotes, witty remarks, humorous incidents and unusual recipes reflects the importance of the dinner table as a setting for entertainment and the exchange of stories.
The book also demonstrates how gastronomy extended beyond the kitchen into journalism, literature and the social practices of urban life.
Le Nouveau Livre de cuisine : recettes pratiques, recueillies et classées, by Madame Emmeline Raymond, with the collaboration of Henriette Poul, is a French domestic cookery manual first published in Paris by Firmin-Didot in 1886. The present copy dates from 1890.
The work brings together recipes and practical instructions for preparing meals, organising breakfasts and dinners, arranging the table, serving food and maintaining dining equipment. It belongs to the substantial body of culinary literature published for French middle-class households during the second half of the 19th century.
Unlike the elaborate gastronomic treatises associated with professional chefs and luxury restaurants, Raymond’s book was intended to provide an organised reference for everyday domestic cooking. Its interest lies not only in its recipes but also in the picture it offers of household dining, domestic responsibilities and the social conventions surrounding meals in late nineteenth-century France.
Emmeline Raymond and Henriette Poul
Emmeline Raymond (1820–1902) was a French journalist, novelist and editor associated particularly with literature intended for women and families. She was closely connected with La Mode illustrée, the influential illustrated women’s periodical founded in Paris in 1860.
The magazine combined fashion, needlework, fiction, domestic advice and information about household life. Its success reflected the development of a substantial readership among educated women, particularly within the expanding urban middle classes.
Raymond also directed the Bibliothèque des mères de famille, a publishing collection intended to provide practical, educational and morally acceptable reading for women and their families.
Her publications included novels, works of domestic instruction and manuals concerned with household management. Her earlier La Bonne Ménagère, first published in 1867, combined advice on cooking with subjects such as domestic economy, household remedies, personal care and practical chemistry.
Le Nouveau Livre de cuisine represents a more specialised contribution to this literature, concentrating on food preparation and the organisation of meals.
The title page identifies Henriette Poul as a collaborator in the collection, verification and organisation of the recipes. The precise division of responsibilities between Raymond and Poul has not been established. The wording of the title nevertheless indicates that Poul contributed to the practical preparation of the material rather than merely being mentioned as an associate.
Publication history
The first edition of Le Nouveau Livre de cuisine appeared in Paris in 1886, published by the Librairie de Firmin-Didot et Cie.
A third edition is documented in 1887, demonstrating that the book was reissued relatively soon after its original publication. An edition dated 1888 is also recorded.
The present copy, published in 1890, belongs to this early sequence of editions. The early editions contain approximately 503 pages of principal text, with preliminary material. A bibliographical description of the 1886 edition records eight preliminary pages and 504 pages of text, while descriptions of the 1887 third edition give nine preliminary pages and 503 pages.
The publication of practical cookery manuals formed part of a much wider market for books intended for domestic instruction.
The organisation of the recipes
The subtitle, Recettes pratiques, recueillies et classées, presents the book as a collection of practical recipes that have been gathered, checked and arranged systematically. This approach was particularly suitable for domestic reference books. Rather than requiring readers to follow a continuous discussion of culinary theory, the material could be consulted according to the type of dish or the requirements of a particular meal.
Contemporary descriptions of the work identify a substantial collection of recipes representing the repertoire of French bourgeois cooking. The range includes soups, fish, meat, poultry, vegetables, sauces, desserts and other preparations associated with the domestic table.
The emphasis is on methods that could be reproduced in the household. Such books provided instructions for readers who might have learned some cooking through family experience but wished to expand their repertoire or consult a written reference when preparing unfamiliar dishes.
The systematic arrangement also made the book useful to households employing domestic servants. A written manual could provide instructions to a cook or help the person responsible for the household supervise the preparation and service of meals.
French bourgeois cuisine in the late 19th century
The book appeared during the Third French Republic (1870-1940), a period in which French culinary culture continued to develop through restaurants, hotels, professional kitchens and domestic publishing.
The distinction between professional and household cooking was important. Elaborate restaurant cuisine could require specialised equipment, extensive preparation and a considerable number of staff. Domestic cooking, even in prosperous households, generally operated under more restricted conditions.
The expression cuisine bourgeoise was commonly associated with respectable household cooking, combining established culinary techniques with attention to cost, available ingredients and the requirements of family meals.
It did not refer to one completely uniform style of cooking. The resources of bourgeois households varied considerably, from families employing several servants to those relying on a single domestic employee or undertaking much of the work themselves.
The late 19th century also saw changes in the availability of food. Railway transport, improved commercial distribution and expanding urban markets made it increasingly possible for city households to obtain ingredients produced at considerable distances.
These developments did not eliminate regional and seasonal differences, but they gradually altered the organisation of food supply and consumption.
Breakfasts, dinners and the organisation of meals
An important feature of Le Nouveau Livre de cuisine is that it extends beyond the preparation of individual dishes. Its full subtitle includes instructions concerning les déjeuners et dîners, the laying of the table and the service of meals.
In 19th-century French usage, the terms déjeuner and dîner did not always correspond exactly to their present-day meanings. Meal times and terminology varied according to period, region and social circumstances.
During the 19th century, the principal meal of the day increasingly shifted towards the evening among urban middle-class and affluent households. This development was associated with changes in working hours, social life and patterns of entertaining.
A cookery manual therefore needed to address not only what should be prepared but also how different dishes could be combined into appropriate meals. The organisation of menus was important for balancing variety, cost, preparation time and the expectations of guests. The book’s attention to these subjects shows that cooking was regarded as one element of a larger domestic system involving planning, presentation and hospitality.
Table service and dining etiquette
The full title also identifies le couvert and le service de la table as subjects of instruction. The French term couvert refers to the place setting and the utensils provided for a diner, including the appropriate arrangement of plates, cutlery and glasses.
The service of meals was governed by conventions concerning the order of dishes, the presentation of food and the duties of those responsible for serving. During the 19th century, the practice of presenting dishes sequentially, commonly associated with service à la russe, became increasingly influential in European dining. This differed from the older service à la française, in which numerous dishes were arranged on the table simultaneously.
The change affected the organisation of kitchens, the timing of food preparation and the work of domestic servants. It also influenced the design of menus and the arrangement of dining tables. Raymond and Poul’s inclusion of table service places their book within this changing culture of domestic entertaining. The instructions were intended to help households reproduce accepted standards of dining without necessarily requiring the resources of an aristocratic establishment.
Silverware, glassware and domestic maintenance
One of the more distinctive elements of the book is its explicit treatment of the cleaning of silverware and glassware. The full subtitle refers to le nettoyage de l’argenterie, de la verrerie, etc.
This material may seem peripheral to a modern cookbook, but it was a natural part of 19th-century domestic instruction. Silver cutlery and serving vessels were important possessions in prosperous households. Their maintenance required regular cleaning and polishing, particularly because silver tarnishes through reactions with sulphur-containing substances in the environment.
Glassware also required careful washing, drying and storage to maintain its appearance and avoid damage.
The inclusion of these subjects reflects the close relationship between cooking, table presentation and household management. A successful meal was judged not only by the quality of the dishes but also by the cleanliness and arrangement of the dining equipment. These practical details make the book useful as a source for the history of everyday domestic objects and their maintenance.
Women, domestic instruction and the printed cookbook
Le Nouveau Livre de cuisine belongs to a period when the management of the household was widely presented as a central responsibility of women. Books and periodicals aimed at female readers offered instruction in cooking, sewing, cleaning, childcare, household expenditure and social behaviour. Such publications often combined practical knowledge with expectations about the conduct of wives and mothers. They should therefore be read both as sources of information about domestic practices and as evidence of contemporary social ideals.
Raymond’s professional career is particularly interesting in this respect. She was a working journalist and editor who earned a public reputation through publications concerned with the domestic sphere. The book’s collaboration with Henriette Poul also illustrates the contribution of women to the collection and transmission of practical culinary knowledge. The printed cookbook could preserve recipes, organise techniques and make culinary instruction available beyond the immediate family or workplace in which such knowledge had traditionally been learned.
The physical book and its binding
The present copy was published in Paris by Didot in 1890, and the auction catalogue describes it as an in-12 volume in a later half-cloth binding (demi-toile postérieure).
The duodecimo format was commonly used for practical manuals because it produced a relatively compact volume suitable for regular consultation.
A half-cloth binding generally consists of cloth covering the spine and sometimes the corners, with the remaining boards covered in paper or another material.
The designation postérieure indicates that the binding was applied after the original publication.
The catalogue records yellowed paper, some foxing and minor defects. Yellowing can result from the chemical ageing of paper, while foxing appears as brownish spots associated with several possible chemical and environmental processes.
Historical significance
Le Nouveau Livre de cuisine is of interest as a late 19th-century French domestic cookbook written and compiled by two women. Its value extends beyond the recipes themselves. The book provides evidence of the organisation of household meals, the conventions of table service and the maintenance of dining equipment.
It also illustrates the systematic approach to domestic instruction characteristic of the period, when practical knowledge was increasingly collected, classified and distributed through commercial publishing.
The relationship between this book and Raymond’s earlier La Bonne Ménagère is particularly interesting. The earlier work addressed household management across a broad range of subjects, while Le Nouveau Livre de cuisine concentrated more directly on culinary practice and the dining table.
