William L. Clements Library

Suggestions for Student Research Papers Using the Resources of the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive

The staff of the Culinary Archive have suggested the following ideas for student research papers. These topics are meant to help stimulate thinking about a topic where the holdings of the Culinary Archive are notable. There are many other topics to be found in the collection's areas of strength, including etiquette, cooking for or with children, and charity cookbooks. We offer these suggestions, based on our knowledge of the collection, along with other resources found in the UM libraries. However, please be aware that we cannot guarantee that a paper can be written based solely on the resources we hold. It is the responsibility of the student, in conjunction with his or her professor, to determine whether or not there is sufficient source material for a paper.

1. Food

Preservation Techniques: Leveraging Natural Abundance

Recipes for preserved foods are a common feature of 18th through early 20th century cookbooks and household manuals. Comparing recipes across the decades, and attending to what writers said, gives us a snapshot of food preservation techniques as well as preferences and attitudes towards canned, pickled, and other preserved foodstuffs, their use, and their place in the American diet and in the economy of the household.

What are the most common recipes for canned, pickled, or other preserved foods and what does that say about what foodstuffs were available? What was common in the early as vs. the late 19th century? What changes came with the spread of the railroads, with their ability to ship food long distances from producer to consumer? What changes came with the introduction of the pressure cooker in the early 20th century? What values do authors draw on when talking about preserving food, e.g. thrift, taste, health, variety in the diet, self-sufficiency?

Finding materials

Keyword in “Subjects”
“Canning and preserving”
“Pressure cooking”

Keyword in “Title”
“Culinary ephemera : canning”

Materials on the growth of the railroads can be found in the Special Collections Transportation Collection in Hatcher library.

Sample Titles

The frugal housewife, or, Complete woman cook : wherein the art of dressing all sorts of viands, with cleanliness, decency, and elegance, is explained in five hundred approved...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1802 Ca

The young woman's companion, or, Frugal housewife : containing the most approved methods of pickling, preserving, potting, collaring, confectionary, managing and colouring...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1811 Yo

The housekeeper's receipt book, or, The repository of domestic knowledge : containing a complete system of housekeeping, formed upon principles of experience and economy, and...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1818 Ho

House keeper's almanac and the young wife's oracle, 1845 : containing over 200 valuable recipes in cookery, confectionary, pastry, &c. &c.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1844 Ho

The frugal housekeeper's kitchen companion, or, Guide to economical cookery : containing instructions in the art of cooking every kind of meats and vegetables, and in making...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1848 Wh

A collection of new and valuable family receipts : comprising the most approved modes of curing meat, cooking, preserving, pickling, washing, dying [i.e. dyeing] fast colors,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1851 Co

Miss Beecher's domestic receipt-book : designed as a supplement to her Treatise on domestic economy.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1855 Be cop. 2

Hand book of practical receipts, or, Useful hints in every day life / by an American gentleman and lady.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1860 Ha

Every-day cookery for every family : containing nearly 1,000 receipts adapted to moderate incomes and comprising the best and most economical methods of roasting, boiling,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1866 Sc

Dedham receipts / prepared by a practical housekeeper.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1872 Da

Archdeacon's kitchen cabinet : a book of receipts for the manufacture of pickles, preserves, jellies, syrups, sauces, ketchups, vinegars, and canning of all kinds of fruit,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1876 Ar

The Lakeside cook book. No. 1 : a manual of recipes for cooking, pickling, and preserving, and other useful information for the housekeeper / by N.A.D.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1878 D

The housekeeper's new cook book : embracing nearly one thousand recipes and practical suggestions to all young housekeepers in regard to cooking and the utensils used / compiled...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1883 Ho

The universal cookery book : practical recipes for household use : selected from the most eminent authorities, including Marion Harland, the Boston cook-book, Miss Parloa,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1887 Un

The modern cook book : embracing more than one thousand recipes and practical suggestions to housekeepers / compiled by Mrs. T.J. Kirkpatrick.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1890 Mo

The economical cook book : practical cookery book of to-day, with minute directions how to buy, dress, cook, serve & carve, and 300 standard recipes for canning, preserving,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1890 Wa

The "Home Queen" World's Fair souvenir cook book : two thousand valuable recipes on cookery and household economy, menus, table etiquette, etc. / contributed by over two...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1895 Ho

Canned fruit, preserves, and jellies : household methods of preparation / by Maria Parloa.
William L. Clements: Cookery Periodicals Far no. 203

Elements of the theory and practice of cookery : a text-book of household science for use in schools / by Mary E. Williams and Katharine Rolston Fisher.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1911 Wi

Canning and how to use canned foods / A.W. Bitting, K.G. Bitting.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1916 Bi

A treatise on food conservation and the art of canning / by Mrs. Sherwood P. Snyder.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1917 Sn

Save it for winter : modern methods of canning, dehydrating, preserving, and storing vegetables and fruit for winter use : with comments on the best things to grow for saving...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1918 Ro

Everywomans canning book : the A B C of safe home canning and preserving by the cold pack method / Mary B. Hughes ...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1918 Hu

The country kitchen cook book : a book of recipes and information for the farm woman.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1922 Co

"Home Comfort" cook book : containing a general course of instruction in/ the art of home cooking and canning, including 1000 modern recipes and valuable formulae : also, many...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1924 Ho

Canning fruits and vegetables at home / [by Louise Stanley].
William L. Clements: Cookery Periodicals Far no. 1471(a)

"Home Comfort" cook book : containing a general course of instruction in the art of home cooking and canning, including 1000 modern recipes and valuable formulae : also, many...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1935 Ho

The country cookbook : cooking, canning and preserving victuals for country home, farm, camp & trailer, with notes on rustic hospitality / written by Cora, Rose & Bob Brown.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1937 Br

Food preservation.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1940 Fo

Home canning of fruits, vegetables, and meats / [by Louise Stanley, Mabel Stienbarger, and Dorothy Shank]
William L. Clements: Cookery Periodicals Far no. 1762(a)

Home canning made easy / by Miriam Williams ; illustrated by A.J. Reagan.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1945 Wi

How to preserve food / by Walter W. Chenoweth.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1945 Ch

2. Food Adulteration

The Culinary Archive contains both manuals for how to compound food and drink and tracts against adulteration. Definitions of food adulteration have varied over time, but generally it refers to adding substances to food to extend it or disguise it. (A fuller description of food adulterations is given here: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01162b.htm )

Throughout the 19th century producers experimented with methods of making production of foodstuffs more expedient, sometimes without due regard for the safety of the substances they used in processing. Public outcry was never far behind, and the 19th century saw a series of food purity scandals and movements. These materials provide evidence for the contemporary attitude towards food adulteration, as well as practices in a variety of food trades.

What were 19th century views of food additives and adulterations? What arguments were made about food adulteration? What fears are reflected in works on food adulteration, and what commercial realities are reflected? How do the authors address the reader - in terms of health, in terms of a larger social agenda, or in terms of other values?

Finding Materials

Keywords in “Subjects”:
“Food adulteration and inspection”
“Food law and legislation -- United States”

The JBLCA’s diverse collection of advertising ephemera also contains much evidence of Americans' concerns about the purity and safety of food.

Sample Titles

Adulteration

A treatise on adulterations of food, and culinary poisons. Exhibiting the fraudulent sophistications of bread, beer, wine, spiritous liquors, tea, coffee, cream, confectionery,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1820 Ac

The household cyclopaedia of practical receipts and daily wants ... by Alexander V. Hamilton.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1873 Ha

The injurious effects of alum upon the human system when used in bread or baking powders, as shown by eminent authorities and as proven by experiments on man and animals.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1873 In

Food materials and their adulterations / by Ellen H. Richards.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1886 Ri

Adulteration of food products.
William L. Clements: D C 1900 2-28

Beverages and their adulteration; origin, composition, manufacture, natural, artificial, fermented, distilled, alkaloidal, and fruit juices, by Harvey W. Wiley ...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1919 Wi

Compounding food and drink

A useful guide for grocers, distillers, hotel & tavern-keepers, and wine and spirit dealers of every denomination; : being a complete directory for making and managing all kinds...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1829 Be

A guide to wealth : over one hundred valuable recipes for saloons, inn-keepers, grocers, druggists, merchants, and for families generally.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1858 Ch

The grocers' manual : a guide book for the information and use of grocers : containing a full description of all the goods sold by the trade : also rates of fare, adulterations,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1879 Fe

The complete bread, cake, and cracker baker : in two parts.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1881 Gi

The art of blending and compounding liquors and wines ... and valuable information concerning whiskeys in bond. By Joseph Fleischman.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1885 Fl

Skuse's complete confectioner : a practical guide to the art of sugar boiling in all its branches, the manufacture of fondants, creams, chocolates, pastilles, jujubes (gelatine...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1890 Sk

The compounder : Williams' informer, or whiskey buyer's guide : the only practical work published : giving the secrets of compounding and the general ins and outs of the liquor...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1898 Wi

Other Sources

Pure food : securing the Federal Food and Drugs Act of 1906 / James Harvey Young.
Hatcher Graduate Library: KF 3864.526 .A16 Y681 1989

3. Health Food

Movements and Diet Reform

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries there have been numerous health food movements, advocating vegetarianism, abstinence, unrefined foods, and other dietary and personal regimens. Sylvester Graham and John Harvey Kellogg are two of the best known American health reformers, but there have been many others including William Alcott, Russell Thacher Trall, and Joel Shew. More recent names include Adele Davis and Frances Moore Lappé. Their methods of pursuing health were based on a variety of theories, some claiming scientific status, others claiming only to rely on common sense.

What values do proponents of health food regimens draw on in their arguments and recommendations? What evils do they depict that their prescribed regimen will cure or avoid? Do they address only the individual, or do they have a social agenda to push? What is their attitude towards the established medical practices of the day? Do they present themselves as working with doctors, or supplanting them?

Finding Materials

Keywords in “Subject”:
“Diet in disease”
“Health”
“Diet therapy”
“Vegetarianism”

Keywords in “Title”:
“Culinary ephemera : health food”
“Water cure”

Sample Titles

The Aesculapian tablets of the nineteenth century. Published by Sylvester Graham, public lecturer on the science of human life ...
William L. Clements: C2 1834 Gr

A defence of the Graham system of living; or, remarks on diet and regimen. Dedicated to the rising generation ...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1835 De

Vegetable diet : as sanctioned by medical men, and by experience in all ages. Including a system of vegetable cookery / by Dr. Wm. A. Alcott.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1849 Al

The new hydropathic cook-book; with recipes for cooking on hygenic principles: containing also a philosophical exposition of the relations of food to health ... By R. T. Trall,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1854 Tr

Fruits and farinacea the proper food of man; being an attempt to prove, from history, anatomy, physiology, and chemistry, that the original, natural, and best diet of man is...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1854 Sm

The health reformer's cook book, or, How to prepare food from grains, fruits, and vegetables / by Mrs. Lucretia E. Jackson.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1867 Ja

The stepping stone to homoeopathy and health / by E.H. Ruddock ; with alterations and additions adapting it to the climate, diseases, and customs of Americans, by the American...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1879 Ru

Household manual of domestic hygiene, food, and diet : treatment of common diseases, accidents and emergencies, and healthful cookery / by J.H. Kellogg.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1882 Ke

Ralston gardens of life : a study of health and the best way of living, including the natural cure of disease and the perfecting of the faculties : also private walks and talks...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1900 Sh

The simple life in a nutshell.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1910 Ke

The new cookery : a book of recipes, most of which are in use at the Battle Creek Sanitarium / by Lenna Frances Cooper.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1914 Co

Natural foods : the safe way to health / by Otto Carqué.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1926 Ca

For material on the health resorts of late 19th and early 20th century Michigan, see the Bentley Historical Library's Suggested Research Topics - Michigan's Spas, Springs and Sanitariums.

4. Changing Face of Vegetarianism in the 19th and early 20th Centuries

Vegetarianism has long had practitioners and proponents in the U.S. But the term “vegetarian” covers a multitude of dietetic philosophies and social stances. Sometimes it has meant eating only vegetable foods, sometimes it has meant avoiding flesh foods, or some kinds of them, with numerous distinctions in between. The rationale for vegetarianism has varied widely, including promotion of health, a moral stance against eating animals, and even metaphysical attitudes.

What arguments did proponents make for vegetarianism during different decades? What constituted vegetarianism: which foods were allowed or not allowed? What other prescriptions accompanied vegetarianism -- temperance, avoidance of tobacco, sexual abstinence, exercise? What rationales are given for these prescriptions? What social or moral values are reflected by the changing discourse on vegetarianism?

Finding Materials

Keywords in “Subjects”:
“Vegetarianism”
“Vegetarian cooking”
“Diet therapy”

Keywords in “Title”
“Vegetarian”
“Vegetable diet”

Sample Titles

Vegetable diet : as sanctioned by medical men, and by experience in all ages. Including a system of vegetable cookery / by Dr. Wm. A. Alcott.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1849 Al

The health reformer's cook book, or, How to prepare food from grains, fruits, and vegetables / by Mrs. Lucretia E. Jackson.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1867 Ja

Practical vegetarian cookery. Editors, the Countess Constance Wachtmeister; Kate Buffington Davis.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1897 Wa

The practical naturopathic-vegetarian cook book : cooked and uncooked foods / by Louise Lust.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1907 Lu

The golden rule cook book : six hundred recipes for meatless dishes / originated, collected, and arranged by M.R.L. Sharpe.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1910 Sh

The Unity Inn vegetarian cook book : a collection of practical suggestions and receipts for the preparation of non-flesh foods in palatable and attractive ways.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1924 Un

From hand to mouth : vegetarian recipes / compiled by Emily B. Sellon.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1942 Se

Vegetarian cookery / by Dr. Pietro Rotondi, D.C.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1948 Ro

5. Cooking and Caring for Invalids

Care of the sick in America has always been shared between professional medical attention and home nursing. Depending on the circumstances, and the time, the balance has tipped one way or the other. The majority of 19th century American cookbooks contain at least a short section of sickroom recipes or recommendations for feeding and care of invalids. The recipes and practices that authors prescribe draw variously on contemporary medical practice, popular medicine, and folk wisdom. Tracing the changes in these practices allows the researcher to explore the intersections among these three sources of medical advice.

How did cooking for invalids change during the course of the 19th century? What foods were considered suitable for people suffering from specific illnesses, and why? What illnesses are most often mentioned, and does this change over the course of the century? What foods were considered dangerous and why? How did sickroom recommendations reflect, or fail to reflect, contemporary medical theories?

Finding Materials

Keyword in “Subjects”:
“Cooking for the sick”
“Medicine, Popular”

Sample Titles

Feeding and Caring for the Sick

A new system of domestic cookery : formed upon principles of economy and adapted to the use of private families / by a lady.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1813 Ru

The Kentucky housewife : containing nearly thirteen hundred full receipts and many more comprised in other similar receipts / by Lettice Bryan.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1841 Br

A manual of homoeopathic cookery : designed chiefly for the use of such persons as are under homoeopathic treatment / by the wife of a homoeopathic physician
William L. Clements: Cookery 1846 Ma

The American matron, or, Practical and scientific cookery / by a housekeeper.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1851 Am

The invalid's own book : a collection of recipes from various books and various countries / by The Honourable Lady Cust.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1853 Cu

Miss Beecher's domestic receipt-book : designed as a supplement to her Treatise on domestic economy.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1855 Be cop. 2

Miss Leslie's new cook book : a complete manual of domestic cookery in all its branches / by Miss Leslie.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1873 Le

Food for the invalid : the convalescent, the dyseptic, and the gouty / by J. Milner Fothergill and Horatio C. Wood.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1880 Fo

How to feed the sick, or, Diet in disease : for the profession and the people / by Ch. Gatchell.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1882 Ga

One hundred and sixty culinary dainties : for the epicure, the invalid, and the dyspeptic / by Samuel Hobbs.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1884 Ho

How to feed the sick : a hand-book of diet in disease / by Ch. Gatchell.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1885 Ga

A handbook of invalid cooking for the use of nurses in training-schools, nurses in private practice, and others who care for the sick : containing explanatory lessons on the...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1898 Bo

Recipe book : a directory for the parlor, nursery, sick-room, larder, toilet, and kitchen : containing also valuable recipes for cosmetics, perfumes, wine-making, and many...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1902 Re

Mrs. Clarke's cook book : containing one thousand of the best up-to-date recipes for every conceivable need in kitchen and other departments of housekeeping / by Annie Clarke.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1909 Cl

Household science and arts / by Josephine Morris.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1913 Mo

Works of Popular Medicine

Domestic medicine: or, A treatise on the prevention and cure of diseases by regimen and simple medicines. With an appendix, containing a dispensatory for the use of private...
William L. Clements: C2 1801 Bu

The American domestick medicine, or, Medical admonisher : containing some account of anatomy, the senses, diseases, casualties : a dispensatory, and glossary : in which the...
William L. Clements: C2 1817 Ja

The family physician and guide to health : together with some remarks on surgery: containing a familiar and accurate description of the symptoms of most diseases incident to...
William L. Clements: C2 1830 No

The family physician. Being a domestic medical work, written in plain style, and divided into four parts. The first, devoted to hygiene...the second, to the history and cure of...
William L. Clements: C2 1845 Fo

Health at home, or, Hall's family doctor : showing how to invigorate and preserve health, prolong life, cure diseases, understand the physical conditions of maternity, and the...
William L. Clements: C2 1873 Ha

Hood's standard family medicines and other proprietary articles of established merit : used with perfect satisfaction in thousands of homes : valued above all others for the...
William L. Clements: Pam 1908 C

19th Century Medical Practice

Works such as the following can be found in the collections of the Taubman Health Sciences Library:
First lines of the practice of physic / by William Cullen ...; with supplementary notes, including the more recent improvements in the practice of medicine / by Peter Reid.
Taubman Health Sciences Rare Books: RC 46 .C84 1802

Synopsis of the universal practice of medicine.
Taubman Health Sciences Rare Books: 616.08 L72 tA88

The manual for invalids / by a physician.
Taubman Health Sciences Rare Books: 610.2 M29

The American cyclopedia of practical medicine and surgery : a digest of medical literature / edited by Isaac Hays.
Taubman Health Sciences Rare Books: 610.3 A5

The modern practice of physic: exhibiting the symptoms, causes ... and treatment of the diseases of all climates. By Robert Thomas, M. D.
Taubman Health Sciences: 616.08 T46 L3

The medical digest, being a means of ready reference to the principal contributions to medical science during the last thirty years. By Richard Neale ...
Taubman Health Sciences: Journals v.75

An encyclopedia of the practice of medicine,
Taubman Health Sciences: 616.08 B92

6. Visual Representations of Food - Food as Cultural Icon

Advertising and promotional ephemera are full of representations of food and drink. But the depiction is never neutral - the advertiser always has a message to send. The creator of the image has framed it to tell a story, or suggest an association. These depictions draw on contemporary values and cultural myths to encourage the consumer to view the product a certain way. Images of food are juxtaposed with other images to suggest health, happy home life, successful entertaining, being up to date, prosperity, patriotism, etc. Deciphering the presentation can tell the researcher much about contemporary values, how food was regarded, and the context of food purchasing and consumption.

What stories do the images of food tell? What other objects or images are typically shown in advertisements for foodstuffs? What associations are used in the depiction of food? When is food shown in a setting where it's made, e.g. the kitchen, as versus a setting where it's served or consumed? What values is the advertiser drawing on to persuade consumers?

Finding Materials

Keywords in “Title”:
“Culinary ephemera”
“Culinary ephemera : canning”
“Culinary ephemera : dairy”
“Culinary ephemera : condiments”
“Culinary ephemera : war”
“Culinary ephemera : flour products”
“Culinary ephemera : sweetening products”
“Culinary ephemera : cereal products”
“Culinary ephemera : canned foods”
“Culinary ephemera : gelatin and tapioca”
“Culinary ephemera : meats and eggs”
“Culinary ephemera : beverages - alcoholic”
“Culinary ephemera : cocoa & chocolate”
“Culinary ephemera : yeast and baking powder products”

7. Guides and “Friends” for Young or New Housekeepers

Guides and sources of advice directed at young or new housekeepers form a distinct genre within culinary publishing and books having to do with home life. The premise of these works is that the young woman (often presumed to be a newlywed) just setting up housekeeping must have a reliable source of adviceto direct her in mastering the multiple skills required for creating a well-run home. The authors are sometimes blandly authoritative, but most often portray themselves as well-wishers or confidential friends who will guide the new housekeeper past the numerous dangers and difficulties she will encounter.

What rhetoric is present in the prefaces and chapters? What contemporary concerns are being addressed? What fears are addressed? What aspirations are catered to? What social dislocations are described, such as the change in upbringing of women? What kind of moral burdens are put on housekeepers/home-makers? What sort of reassurances does the author give the reader? What prescriptions for the performance of class and gender do we see in the offered advice?

Finding Materials

Keyword in Titles
“Young housekeeper”
“Beginner”

Sample Titles

The young house-keeper, or, Thoughts on food and cookery. / By Wm. A. Alcott, author of the Young wife, Young mother, House I live in, and Young man's guide, and editor of the...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1838 Al

The housekeeper's almanac, or, The young wife's oracle for 1840 : containing upwards of 250 valuable recipes in cooking, confectionary, &c. &c.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1839 Ho

Domestic cookery : useful receipts and hints to young housekeepers / by Elizabeth E. Lea.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1846 Le

The young house-keeper, : or Thoughts on food and cookery.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1848 Al

The young housekeeper's friend, or, A guide to domestic economy and comfort / by Mrs. Cornelius.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1850 Co

Domestic cookery, useful receipts, and hints to young housekeepers by Elizabeth E. Lea.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1855 Le

The practical housekeeper and young woman's friend : containing useful receipts and advice on domestic economy / by M.L. Scott.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1855 Sc

The young housekeeper's friend / by Mrs. Cornelius.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1859 Co

Mrs. Putnam's receipt book and young housekeeper's assistant.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1865 Pu

The young housekeeper's friend. By Mrs. Cornelius.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1871 Co

The household treasure, or, The young housewife's companion, containing complete instructions in, and receipts for preparing breakfast dishes, bread, biscuits, etc.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1871 Ho

Every day home advice relating chiefly to household management : with hints upon houses, how to construct and preserve, domestic cookery in all its departments, gardens, small...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1883 Ev

Cookery for beginners : a series of familiar lessons for young housekeepers / by Marion Harland
William L. Clements: Cookery 1884 Ha

Dining room notes : a practical hand-book for housekeepers / by Emily Hayes.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1885 Ha

The graded cook book : a guide to old and young housekeepers, with plain directions for practical cooking and domestic economy / edited by Mrs. Lavinia Hargis.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1888 Ha

Letters to a young housekeeper / by Marie Hansen-Taylor (Mrs. Bayard Taylor).
William L. Clements: Cookery 1893 Ta

The Green Mountain white ribbon cook book : especially adapted to young house keepers and busy women : containing choice gleanings from many households.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1895 Gr
William L. Clements: Cookery 1895 Gr cop. 2

The Pocumtuc housewife : a guide to domestic cookery as it is practiced in the Connecticut Valley : to which are added plain directions for soap-making, brewing, candle dipping,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1897 Po

The Mothers' Society cook book : dainty, appetizing, and economical dishes : 250 practical recipes dedicated to the young housewives of nineteen hundred and four.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1904 Mo

Letters to a young housekeeper / by Jane Prince.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1917 Pr

Letters to a young housekeeper / by Jane Prince.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1918 Pr

8. Domestic Science and the Cooking School Movement

The Cooking School movement began in England, as an outgrowth of other 19th century reform movements. The original aim was to help reform the cooking and eating habits of the urban poor. In America, reformers and cookbook writers soon took up the cause. It was not too long before the focus began to shift to classes for a middle class audience, which thereafter existed side by side with classes for women employed as domestic servants. There was a perceived need for reform of the national diet, and a move towards a more scientific approach in the practice of cooking. This was part of the promotion of the professionalization and rationalization of many elements of American life in the latter half of the 19th century. There was also a push for cooking to be taught in public schools, and the Domestic Science movement had similar aims for housekeeping and the management of the home.

What reforms in American cooking and eating do the authors see the need for? What reasons do they give? What admonitions about cooking and housekeeping are repeated over time and how do they change? Do the values that are expressed in these works change over time? Does what's expressed about housekeeping as a vocation or profession change? What other social trends, such a women's increasing role in the workforce, does this reflect?

Finding Materials

Keyword in “Subjects”:
“Home economics -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.”
“Cooking -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.”
“Cooking -- Study and teaching”
"Home economics -- Study and teaching"
“Cooking schools”

Keyword in “Title”:
“Domestic economy”
“Domestic science”

Sample Titles

Buckmaster's cookery : being an abridgment of some of the lectures delivered in the cookery school at the International Exhibition for 1873 and 1874 : together with a collection...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1874 Bu

Cooking school text book and housekeepers' guide to cookery and kitchen management : an explanation of the principles of domestic economy taught in the New York Cooking School /...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1879 Co

The sixth annual course of object lessons in cookery before the young women of Lasell Seminary, Auburndale, Mass. / given by Mrs. O.C. Daniell of Dedham, December, 1882, to...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1883 Da

The easiest way in housekeeping and cooking : adapted to domestic use or study in classes / by Helen Campbell.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1881 Ca

The latest and best cook book : a comprehensive treatment of the subject of cookery, ancient and modern, cooking utensils, &c., with abundant instructions in every branch of the...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1884 La

Boston school kitchen text-book : lessons in cooking for the use of classes in public and industrial schools / by Mrs. D.A. Lincoln.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1887 Li

Cookery in the public schools / by Sallie Joy White.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1890 Wh

How to teach kitchen garden : or, Object lessons in household work, including songs, plays, exercises, and games illustrating household occupations / by Emily Huntington.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1901 Hu

Course in domestic science / by Maud Fuller.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1905 Fu

Handbook of domestic science and household arts for use in elementary schools : a manual for teachers / with a preface by Mrs. Ellen H. Richards and with chapters contributed by...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1908 Wi

Elements of the theory and practice of cookery : a text-book of household science for use in schools / by Mary E. Williams and Katharine Rolston Fisher.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1911 Wi

The dinner calendar for 1914 / by Fannie Merritt Farmer.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1913 Fa

Household science and arts / by Josephine Morris.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1913 Mo

Lessons in cooking through preparation of meals / by Eva Roberta Robinson and Helen Gunn Hammel.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1914 Ro

Household arts for home and school / by Anna M. Cooley and Wilhelmina H. Spohr.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1921 Co

Domestic science, principles and application : a textbook for public schools / by Pearl L. Bailey.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1923 Ba

Food : its planning and preparation : a junior course in food study with a recipe book for use at home and at school / by Mabel T. Wellman.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1928 We

Foods : an introductory college course / Margaret M. Justin, Lucile Osborn Rust, Gladys E. Vail.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1940 Ju

Other sources:

Cooking up modernity: culinary reformers and the making of consumer culture, 1876-1916

Rethinking home economics : women and the history of a profession / edited by Sarah Stage and Virginia B. Vincenti.
Hatcher Graduate Library: TX 23 .R481 1997

9. Changes in Consumption: Menus and Meal Plans

Many 19th and early 20th century cookbooks include menus or “bills of fare.” These model meals give us examples of the context within which the recipes in the books were served. They also tell us about the way American dining changed over time. The relative lavishness or frugality of meals during different periods throws light on the place of dining in the schedule of the day, and on the effort involved in preparing meals. The way these differ from our own patterns suggest one way the use of our time has changed in the past century and a quarter.

How did meal plans change over the course of the course of time in the 19th and early 20th centuries? Looking at works from three or four different decades, what differences can you trace? What changes were there in how many dishes were served in a course? What changes were there in what courses made up the meal? What changes were there in which dishes were recommended to start or finish the meal, or fill out the courses in between? What do the changing meal plans say about the amount of time spent at table? How do the meal plans compare to the way we eat now? What other social changes, such as the change in employment of hired cooks and other servants in middle class homes, are reflected in these books?

Finding Materials

Keyword in “Subjects”:
Menus

Sample Titles

The practice of cookery, pastry, pickling, preserving, &c. : containing figures of dinners from five to nineteen dishes and a full list of supper dishes : also, a list of things...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1791 Fr

The art of cookery made plain and easy : which far excels any thing of the kind yet published : containing ... : in which are included one hundred and fifty new and useful...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1796 Gl

A new system of domestic cookery : formed upon principles of economy and adapted to the use of private families / by a lady.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1813 Ru

Cookery and confectionary / by John Conrade Cooke.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1824 Co

The modern housewife : or, Ménagère : comprising nearly one thousand receipts, for the economic and judicious preparation of every meal of the day : with those of the nursery...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1851 So

Mrs. Goodfellow's cookery as it should be. A manual of the dining-room and kitchen. Containing original receipts on every branch of cookery ... Together with rules on carving ...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1865 Go

The book of household management : comprising information for the mistress, housekeeper, cook, kitchen-maid, butler, footman, coachman, valet, upper and under house maids,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1866 Be

What shall we eat? : a manual for housekeepers : comprising a bill of fare for breakfast, dinner, and tea, for every day in the year : with an appendix, containing recipes for...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1868 Wh

The new cyclopaedia of domestic economy and practical housekeeper : adapted to all classes of society and comprising subjects connected with the interests of every family, such...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1872 El

Everyday's need : a collection of well proven recipes / furnished by the ladies of the Business Women's Union.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1873 Ev

The home messenger book of tested receipts : total abstinence : respectfully dedicated to the patrons and friends of the Detroit Home of the Friendless / by the compilers...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1878 Ho

Practical housekeeping : a careful compilation of tried and approved recipes.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1883 Wi

The Franco-American cookery book, or, How to live well and wisely every day in the year : containing over 2000 recipes / by Felix J. Déliée.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1884 De

The model cook book : containing over 1000 thoroughly tested recipes founded upon the principles of economy and adapted to the use of private families / by Mrs. Frances Willey.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1889 Wi

The pattern cook-book.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1890 Pa

What shall we have to eat? : the question answered, or, a bill of fare for every day in the entire year with some receipts / by Mrs. Clarence I. Burr.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1893 Bu

Catering for two : comfort and economy for small households / by Alice L. James.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1898 Ja

Gala-day luncheons : a little book of suggestions / by Caroline Benedict Burrell.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1901 Be

Mother Hubbard's modern cupboard.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1903 Mo

Mrs. Rorer's every day menu book : giving a menu for every meal in the year : menus for weddings, dinners, receptions, and many other social functions : with illustrations of...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1905 Ro

Lemco dishes for all seasons : containing 208 recipes for articles in season each month : together with invalid dishes, breakfast dishes and sweets, and 75 menus for breakfasts,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1905 Tu

The international cook book : over 3,300 recipes gathered from all over the world, including many never before published in English : with complete menus of the three meals for...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1906 Fi

Miss Parloa's new cook book and marketing guide / by Maria Parloa.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1908 Pa

The White House cook book : a comprehensive cyclopedia of information for the home : containing cooking, toilet and household recipes, menus, dinner-giving, table etiquette,...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1910 Zi

Catering for special occasions : with menus & recipes / by Fannie Merritt Farmer ; decorations by Albert D. Blashfield.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1911 Fa

The dinner calendar for 1914 / by Fannie Merritt Farmer.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1913 Fa

Lessons in cooking through preparation of meals / by Eva Roberta Robinson and Helen Gunn Hammel.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1914 Ro

The calendar of luncheons : with 52 practical Sunday evening suppers : 365 answers to the daily question "What shall we have for luncheon?" / selected and arranged by Elizabeth...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1915 Hi

The calendar of dinners : 365 answers to the daily question "What shall we have for dinner?" / selected and arranged by Elizabeth O. Hiller.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1917 Hi

The calendar of luncheons, teas, and suppers / compiled by Elizabeth O. Hiller.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1920 Hi

The Beech-Nut book : a book of menus & recipes / by Ida Bailey Allen.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1923 Al

For luncheon and supper guests : ten menus, more than one hundred recipes suitable for company luncheons, Sunday night suppers, afternoon parties, automobile picnics, evening...
William L. Clements: Cookery 1925 Br

The book of unusual cookery : 52 Sunday dinners & fine old time recipes.
William L. Clements: Oversize Cookery 1927 Bo

Mrs. Allen on cooking, menus, service : 2500 recipes / by Ida C. Bailey Allen ; illustrations posed by Ida C. Bailey Allen and Jack Wilbur.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1928 Al

The Detroit news menu cook book / by Myrtle Calkins.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1933 Ca

A book of menus with recipes / by Della T. Lutes; breakfast, luncheon, dinner, buffet supper.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1936 Lu

The Alice Bradley menu-cook-book : menus, marketing lists and recipes / by the Principal of Miss Farmer's School of Cookery, Inc.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1937 Br

The discriminating hostess : a book of menus and tested recipes / Ella Liner Lambert.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1939 La

The complete menu book / by Gladys T. Lang.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1939 La

Dining for moderns : with menus and recipes : the why and when of wining / compiled by Mrs. G. Edgar Hackney ; wine notes by Peter Greig ; edited by Ann R. Silver.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1940 Ha

More than cooking : recipes and menus / by Stella Standard ; introduction by Helmut Ripperger ; decorations by Fritz Kredel.
William L. Clements: Cookery 1946 St

10. Scenes of Domesticity

Embedded in works on the life of the home, including cookbooks, household manuals, and books of etiquette, are idealized, culturally constructed visions of how the home and the family work. In this idealized home, members of the household are assigned roles, duties, and responsibilities of both practical and interpersonal kinds. Admonitions about how not to act and what not to think are a clue to the stresses felt in real households. Deciphering the structure of this model home domain gives insight into contemporary beliefs about private life, family, and human relationships.

What values are in play when domesticity is described? What ideals for domestic happiness are portrayed in home-making literature? What roles are assigned to the different members of the family in the functioning of the home? Does this change over time, and, if so, how? How does this reflect the understanding of gender and familial roles at the time these books were written?