I have one called the mystery chef...It comes from the 30's or 40's....I dont feel like checking right now but it is an interesting read too.

I did have one of those really old ones with all recipes and housecleaning do's and don'ts and servant things but took it to my shop and sold it. I have an old Household Searchlight cookbook, dated 1940. Somewhere I have an old, old White House Cookbook packed away, the covers are missing, a relative had it for awhile and didn't take care of it. I think it was from the late 1800s or early 1900s.

The White House Cookbok, 1894

It is in bad shape, but really fun to read...recipes, etiquette, household tips, caring for the sick!

I also have one from the early 1900's, in German. The oldest one I bought myself, I got in 1972, just prior to leaving Germany.

Thus, my two oldest cook books are in German.

Moni

Mine is "The Brides Boof of Recipes and Household Hints"
A Gift from the Advertisers
Whose Names apper in this Book

Published in the early early 1900's.
Not only are there recipes, but also advertisments from the Minneapolis area.

Anyone living in the area....is the New Eanglad Furniture and Carpet Co. still in business? It had a huge store on the corner of 5th Street and First Avenue North.

I noticed an edition of my mother's cookbook on a friend's book shelf, and she gave it to me. The Way to a Man's Heart, The Settlement Cookbook and this one is dated 1941.

hounds_x_two (My Page) on Sun, Mar 1, 09 at 22:37

The White House Cookbok, 1894 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I have one too but I think it was a gift to my Mom around 1920 I'll have to find it and doublecheck It shows how to do a whole lot of things we take for granted today

I have one that I inherited from my MIL. It is the "Cookery Book of Good and Tried Recipes" and is dated 1927. Unfortunately it is not in good condition - the spine has been taped up and pages are falling out, but it is such an interesting read, with lots of great recipes and handy hints. It's something that I do treasure.

My grandmother's White House Cookbook, 1894. My mother was the youngest in her family. My grandmother was born in 1886 and died in 1950 (sick with breast cancer years before that) 9 years before I was born. Everything I have of hers is old, old, old. I have quilts she handstitched. I would have had handblown German Christmas ornaments, but my Dad gave them to Goodwill before asking us if we wanted them. I was very upset. Those were so special to my mother (she died in 1991)

The oldest one I know of for certain is 1936. There could be an older one hidden in there somewhere.

I had a guy who used to sell me old cookbooks at a local farmer's market(called 'the auction' around here since there's an auction there too). He never sold me anything for more than $5 and I only paid $5 once or twice. Everything was usually $1-$3 for hardcovers and 25 or 50 cents for paperbacks. Unfortunately I couldn't get there until the end of the day and he was always telling me about the ones that 'got away'. I rarely got the really old ones. There was another collector who got there earlier.

Interesting responses--love hearing about your collections.

Cheryl--if you want to preserve that, it might be worth checking to see if there's a bookbinder in your area who might restore it. I think I paid maybe $30 or so (some years back) to have the one I mentioned rebound--but I felt it was money well-spent for such an interesting book. I've had some heirloom children's books that had seen better days rebound, as well, and was very pleased with the results.

Is this the one you're thinking of?

Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management

My oldest is from the 1950s

I have a very old one that was reprint of an even older one. It has recipes of Colonial Williamsburg. I have some going back to early 1900's and late 1800's. I collect old cookbooks and am always looking for them at the thrift stores, used book stores and garage sales. My Mom was the one who started me on this. She has some really old ones. I won't pay a huge amount for them though.
Clare

I also have one from 1913 called
Fifty-Two Sunday Dinners.

OMGosh! It has complete menus, recipes and hints for making Sunday dinner every week of the year.
Some of these menus are pretty extravagant. No way would anyone cook like that now.

Here's the menu for the first Sunday in March

Spring Soup - Crusts
Breast of Veal Roasted - Brown Sauce
Spanish Rice
Mashed Parsnips
Pineapple Fritters
Red Cabbage, Celery and Onion Salad
Steamed Currant Pudding
Dried Apricot and Hard Sauce
Small Cups Coffee

have a reprint from the 1800's...but have my grandmother's from 1942...i have a feeling it was purchased so my 2 uncles who were still home, had a reference while she was working as a "rosie the riviter"...to tell you the truth i don't know how they did it...tried to maintain 2 family farms, attend hs, and kept the home fire burning, till they enlisted...

Thanks azzalea for the suggestion to preserve my cookbook - I had never really thought of doing that, but might look into it further.

I don't know if I have an old cookbook, I'll have to look. I do know that I have some old "home keeping" books that I enjoy going through every now and then.

I have a Rumsfeld baking powder cookbook from the early 30's and then my treasured Searchlight cookbook that was my grandma's, printed 1945.

Sold my White House cookbook, so my oldest would be Good Housekeeping from the late 50's. Has no hardback, all gone, pages are brownish from usage, spillage, etc. I will never part with it.

Sure my DS will when it passes down to him.

My oldest is Nelson's Home Comforts, seventh edition revised by Mary Hooper, published in London in 1885. Nelson's was a brand, & the first six pages describe their jellies, blanc-mange, chocolate cream, citrus essences, flavored lozenges, soups & tinned meats, among other products. It includes recipes for "little dishes of fish," "little dishes of meat," puddings, jellies, cakes, creams, & two pages touting New Zealand Frozen Mutton, which, evidently, Nelson's imported to the British market.

My next oldest cookbook is Marion Harland's Complete Cook Book, published in 1903. Some of the chapter headings are: Care of Household Stores, Kitchen Utensils, Carving, The Impromptu Larder, Who Rules the Home, The Toast Family, Luncheon Cakes, Sweets of All Sorts, Concerning Dinner Giving, An Evening Reception and Chafing-Dish Supper, & Handy Household Hints.

It's much fun reading these old books & marveling at how much cooking, ingredients & styles of cooling & serving have changed.

Oh, I think the one I was trying to describe might be Marion Harland's--will check tomorrow if we can plow through the snow to the country house.

I got a Betty Crocker cookbook as a wedding shower gift in 1962, so it's my oldest one.