A vintage cookbook shown in front and side views. The cover is dark reddish-brown with ornate gold embossed lettering reading "HOUSEKEEPING IN OLD VIRGINIA" and decorative illustrations.
The half titleof the book 'Housekeeping in Old Virginia' by Marion Cabell Tyree, published by John P. Morton and Company in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1879.
A close-up of a beige paper surface with small black printed text at the bottom reading, 'A Reprint of the Original Favorite Recipes Press, Inc. © MCMLXV Post Office Box 18254 Louisville, Kentucky 40215.
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A vintage cookbook shown in front and side views. The cover is dark reddish-brown with ornate gold embossed lettering reading "HOUSEKEEPING IN OLD VIRGINIA" and decorative illustrations.The half titleof the book 'Housekeeping in Old Virginia' by Marion Cabell Tyree, published by John P. Morton and Company in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1879.A close-up of a beige paper surface with small black printed text at the bottom reading, 'A Reprint of the Original Favorite Recipes Press, Inc. © MCMLXV Post Office Box 18254 Louisville, Kentucky 40215.

Housekeeping in Old Virginia

Debs Book Paradise
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Price:
$45.00

Description

Author: Marion Cabell Tyree (Editor)
Publisher: Favorite Recipes Press, Inc. (Louisville, Kentucky)
Year: 1965 (Facsimile reprint of the original 1879 edition)
Edition: Cookbook Collectors Library Edition (Copyright © MCMLXV)
Format: Hardcover / Faux-Leatherette with gilt-embossed cover design
Condition: Excellent / Near Fine

An iconic, beautifully preserved window into the culinary soul and social customs of the Gilded Age South.
Originally compiled in 1879 by Marion Cabell Tyree, Housekeeping in Old Virginia stands as an absolute cornerstone of American gastronomic history. This massive regional masterwork bridges the pre- and post-Civil War culinary landscapes, anthologizing over 1,700 treasured recipes, domestic secrets, and medicinal remedies contributed by 250 of Virginia's most distinguished housewives—including descendants of Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Washington. Beyond traditional southern dishes like authentic Brunswick stews, salt-cured hams, and delicate beaten biscuits, the text operates as a fascinating anthropological record of late 19th-century domestic economy, guiding the homemaker through everything from soap-making to the intricate etiquette of formal entertaining.
This stunning volume is a faithful mid-century facsimile issued in 1965 by Favorite Recipes Press as a premier selection for their exclusive Cookbook Collectors Library. It features a magnificent, heavily textured maroon leatherette cover deeply stamped with an elaborate gold-gilt illustration of a traditional Gilded Age kitchen and plantation scene. Balancing historical preservation with durable luxury, it serves as an exceptional conversation piece for serious culinary historians, collectors of Americana, or anyone curating a design-forward regional library.
Condition Notes
  • Overall Profile: Near Fine (NF) condition. An outstandingly clean, crisp, and beautifully preserved specimen that has avoided the typical kitchen stains and shelf wear common to vintage cookbooks.
  • Cover & Binding: The rich maroon leatherette boards are flawless, displaying remarkably deep texture and sharp edge profiles. The magnificent gold-gilt cover illustrations and spine text are exceptionally bright, unfaded, and free from surface rubbing.
  • Spine: Perfectly flat, square, and uncreased. The binding remains structurally tight and completely rigid, holding the heavy 500+ page text block flat without any structural lean or shelf sag.
  • Interior: Pure and untouched. The pages are immaculate—completely free from cooking oil splatters, thumb smudges, dog-ears, or underlining. Features zero private library stamps, holiday inscriptions, or dealer markings.

  • Boutique Preservation: As with all selections from Debs Book Paradise, this volume arrives safely housed and protected inside an archival-grade covering to maintain its outstanding condition on your shelves.