Culinary History Highlight: A Presidents Day Treat!

Published in 1901 and "affectionately dedicated" to "the wives of our Presidents, those noble women who have graced the White House, and whose names and memories are dear to all Americans," The cabinet cook book:  Adapted from the White House cook book represents 440 pages of information on American food of all sorts. What better way to celebrate Presidents Day than to take a look at the recipes and food-related details that informed the Presidential wives of the 19th century.

Dedication page:  Click to enlarge and read

When I checked WorldCat, a union cataloging itemizing the collections of over 71,000 libraries internationally, I found that only one other library in the world seems to own this book; indeed, this item seems to be a true treasure of Virginia Tech's Culinary History Collection.

Even though the book itself may not be in the best condition (as you can see above), you can view the entire contents of this book--440 pages of recipes, illustrations, and even Presidential wives' portraits--online through our digitized Culinary History Collection:  http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/digital_books/pdf/TX715.G4818_1901.pdf

If you'd like to view it in person, you can always visit the University Libraries Special Collections, located on the first floor of Newman Library.  Happy Presidents Day!