Archives and Special Collections

The Rare Book Collection contains about 1,000 rare books related to culinary history, dating from the 16th century through the 20th century. Most are in English or French.  Authors represented include Athenaeus, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Marie Antonin Carême, Urbain Dubois, Auguste Escoffier, and Pierre Francois La Varenne.

Please contact Nicole Semenchuk for information about using this collection,

All books in the Rare Book Collection must be used in the Archives reading room.

Make sure hands are washed thoroughly before using anything in the special collections. We do not use white gloves. Here are some articles about the myth of white glove usage on old books:

• For Rare Book Librarians, It’s Gloves Off. Seriously. (nytimes)
• Misperceptions about White Gloves by Dr. Cathleen A. Baker and Randy Silverman (International Preservation News)

Athenaeus, of Naucratis.  Athenaei Dipnosophistarum, sive Coenae Sapientum Libri XV.  Veneti: Apud Francisum Bartolomaei Honorati, 1556.

 Ellwanger, George H. The Pleasures of the Table: An Account of Gastronomy from Ancient Days to Present Times. New York: Doubleday Page, 1902.

 Filippini, Alexander. One Hundred Ways of Cooking Eggs. New York: Charles L. Webster, 1892.

  What to Eat (1896-1908)

 Celebrated Actor Folks’ Cookeries: A Collection of the Favorite Foods of Famous Players. New York: Mabel Rowland, 1916.