Extremely rare Elzevier edition of this famous cookery book, generally recognised to be the first comprehensive French work on patisserie (pastry-making). De la Varennes cookery books would completely transform the French - and European - cuisine in the 17th-century. The present Elzevier edition, directly following the first Paris edition of 1653, is described by Brunet as "l'édition elzevirienne la plus précieuse" and the work in genereal is considered by Oberlé as "un des joyaux les plus rares et les plus précieux dont une bibliothèque gastronomique puisse s'enorgueillir". The book is extremely rare because most copies have been actually used by cooks and pastry chefs, and have therefore not survived. In essence, it is very much a practical and useful, not a "'de luxe'" cookery book. It has become one of the most desirable and cherished treasures in any collection of cookery books, also reflected by the luxurious 19th-century binding by the German-born Parisian bookbinder Georges Trautz (1808-1879). Instead of being written for full-time chefs, the present work was meant for a bourgeois audience; the author states in the preface that because of this publication there will henceforth be no place where patisserie delicacies will not be available for consumption. It includes recipes for cakes, pies, biscuits, and other pastries, and even contains more than 60 ways of preparing eggs.
The work is attributed to the French chef François-Pierre de la Varenne (1618-1678), great innovator of French cuisine in the 17th century. De la Varenne is mostly known for his work Le cuisinier françois (1651), in which he introduces many - now common and indispensable - terms and pays special attention to the cooking of vegetables. He wrote two more works that would influence French cuisine: the famous work on pastries, and a lesser-known work on jams, jellies, preserves, and syrups. De la Varennes cookery books were incredibly successful and remained in print for 2 centuries.
From the collection of the American lawyer, engineer, hotel operater and rare book collector Louis H. Silver (1902-1963). American physician and collector of culinary books Marcus Crahan (1900-1978), whose collection encompassed well over a thousand books on gastronomy. Crahan collected these works together with his wife Elizabeth and their collection was sold at auction in 1984.
With a brown morocco book plate lettered in gold, of Louis H. Silver, and a large printed paper book plate of Marcus Crahan both mounted on the verso of the first marbled flyleaf, a gold-tooled blue morocco armorial plate mounted on the recto of the second marbled flyleaf (a crowned rococo-style cartouche/shield containing three small flowers), and two manuscript inscriptions on the recto of the first blank flyleaf, respectively in blue ink and pencil ("Exemplaire de MM. Sensier, Binon, (V. le Manuel), Millot et du Marquis de Coislin." and "de M. de Montesson, et de M. Cotier[?].").The hinges are weakened, slight foxing throughout. Otherwise in very good condition. Brunet IV, 426; Crahan 73; Horn-Arndt, Kochbuchsammlung 155; Oberlé, Les fastes de Bacchus et de Comus 81; Schraemli, Von Lucullus zu Escoffier, pp. 120-4; STCN 09449309X (4 copies); USTC 1820556 (4 copies, same as STCN); Vicaire 660-2; Willems 1187 (listing only five copies); WorldCat 474820115, 258673012, 80292820, 771306414 (8 copies not in STCN).