The Food Studies Collection at Fales has been expanding rapidly since it was started back in 2003, and is now the largest in the United States. In 2010, Fales acquired the collection of writer and food historian Andrew F. Smith, which includes not only a vast number of 19th and early 20th century cookbooks, but also ephemera, pamphlets, almanacs, manuscript cookbooks and recipe cards. Below are some of our favorite small pamphlets from the collection.

Published by the Heinz Company in Ontario, 1953, this can-shaped pamphlet includes 57 recipes using various condensed soups, including a recipe for Tomato Soup Cake (with cream cheese frosting), and Salmon and Potato Chip Casserole.

 "Cooking Creole: suggestions on making Creole food", edited by Jean de Boissiere, was published in Trinidad around 1945. It is illustrated with wonderful woodcuts, and includes recipes for crab, deer, fish, vegetables and desserts using local ingredients. 

The Planters Peanut icon, Mr. Peanut, has been used in advertising since 1916. The item shown above is a children's paintbook from 1920, which tells the story of Mr. Peanut visiting Betty and her friends and whisking them away on various adventures around the world, ending back home: "It wasn't many minutes/ Before their magic plane / Was flying toward Virginia / To bring them home again. / Then Mr. Peanut took them / To Planters factories / And there they saw inspectors, / At work like busy bees."  

Published in 1935, the above example provides tips on using lemon juice to increase the loveliness of one's hair, hands and skin.

The Boy Scouts Association of London published this guide to outdoor cookery in 1921. The author called on his experience in the Army and with the Boy Scouts to put together the guide, which includes recipes, instructions on how to build various types of 'outdoor kitchen', rations needed for large Scout outings, edible wild plants and a handy list of 'French names for food'.

Our lovely exhibition "A Sanctuary for the Arts: Judson Memorial Church and the Avant-Garde, 1954-1977" came down yesterday. In case you missed it, here are a few images from the show, which was curated by Joanna Steinberg from our Judson Archive:





We are excited about our next exhibition, a series of paintings by Philip Monaghan that "illustrates and interprets" Tim Dlugos's poem "Gilligan's Island." The show opens on January 26th with a reading and reception in our Tracey/Barry Gallery. Enjoy a sneak peak at the paintings at Monaghan's website.

A case for paper case bindings; an Italian cookbook from 1790

We just catalogued this book, Romano, Francesco Leonardi. L'Apicio moderno ossia l'arte di appresentare ogni sorti di vivande. Italy, 1790. Romano was chef to Catherine II of Russia. The book is from the library of the Duke of Malvezzi. I found it interesting that the papercase binding, which as very little adhesive so it is not a true adhesive-free papercase of the kind Gary Frost promotes for conservation work, is in very good condition. The silverfish damage not withstanding, the binding has kept this book safe and usable for 200 years of cooking. It is a fascinating encyclopedia of Italian cooking from the period.

"Batman" (1963-1967)

We'd like to start off the New Year by sharing a lovely new acquisition:

Marty Greenbaum's "trip book" Batman, which he created between 1963-1967 while living in Downtown New York.

Photos can only begin to convey the dense, layered, worked quality of these pages.

We particularly love the recurring pieces of yarn that work their way through multiple pages, as seen in this detail: