TWO RARE GREEK COOKERY BOOKS · ATHENS 1900 & c.1930s · WESTBURY PROVENANCE · 1,000+ RECIPES

A fascinating pair of scarce Greek-language cookery books, combining a substantial illustrated domestic manual of 1900 with a later French-influenced culinary work with bilingual menus.

Illustrated Woodcuts · Bilingual Greek-French Menus · Baron Westbury Provenance · Hellenic Culinary History

Bibliographic Details

Work I:
Author: ALEXIADIS, B.
Title: Οικογενειακὴ Μαγειρικὴ.
Imprint: Athens: Anastásios D. Fexis, 1900.
Edition: Second edition.
Collation: vi + 208 pp.
Illustrations: Over 100 woodcut engravings; title-page vignette stove.
Binding: Original green cloth.
Size: 8vo.

Work II:
Author: Anonymous (as issued).
Title: Νέα Μαγειρική / New Cookery.
Imprint: [Greece: no publisher stated, c.1930s].
Edition: Part I: 5th edition; Part II: 2nd edition, with new recipes added.
Collation: 136 + 132 pp.
Illustrations: Text illustrations; bilingual Greek/French menus.
Binding: Original orange pictorial wraps bound into red half-leather over marbled boards.
Provenance: Armorial bookplate of Richard Morland Tollemache Bethell, 4th Baron Westbury.
Size: 8vo.

Condition

Οικογενειακὴ Μαγειρικὴ: Binding rubbed; scattered foxing and kitchen spotting, chiefly to prelims and margins; text generally clean.
Νέα Μαγειρική: Moderate toning to leaves; first part possibly without its half-title; leather sound with light wear.
Overall, a sound and appealing pair. Please ask if you require a more detailed condition report, or view gallery images closely.

Description

A fascinating pairing of scarce Greek-language culinary manuals: the large, wood-engraved Οικογενειακὴ Μαγειρικὴ of Athens, 1900, and the later, French-influenced Νέα Μαγειρική in two parts, the latter carrying the bookplate of Richard Morland Tollemache Bethell, 4th Baron Westbury.

The earlier volume is an ambitious domestic cookery manual, illustrated throughout and claiming “Μετὰ 1000 συνταγῶν”, that is, over 1,000 recipes. Its contents range from everyday soups to more elaborate dishes such as γλώσσα βραστή με γαρνιτούρα and μπουτὶ προέδρου κοκκινιστό, while the publisher’s preface stresses the lack of a comprehensive domestic cookery book for Greeks and praises Alexiadis for adapting hotel-style cuisine “κατάλληλα διά τὰς οικογενείας”, suitably for household use.

The later Νέα Μαγειρική reflects a more cosmopolitan culinary world, with bilingual Greek/French menus and