THE NEW BEDFORD PRACTICAL RECEIPT BOOK

New Bedford:Charles Taber and Co. 1859. 1st edition. 99pp. Hardcover.  Brown blind stamped boards with title in gilt on spine, soiled and shelfworn, with edges worn, spine ends both chipped and gilt rubbed, and edge points bumped and worn to boards. Internally, blank end-pages have been used for writing recipes down, and they are completely covered, both front and rear. A name has been penciled to both the title page and top of page 3. There are many stains, as you would expect from a used cookbook, scattered throughout. The last page has the lower half torn away but it does not look like there was any text lost. All pages are still attached but a few towards the end of the book have started to seperate. *The author was well known for making cakes in support of her family, after losing her husband at sea.