Collecting Vintage Cookbooks by Jen

1910s-1960s

When I was a preteen, I used to spend a lot of time at my granny's home in Dallas.

She always got up at the crack of dawn to start her homemade biscuits. These were the kinda biscuits that had to rise twice. She had to put them in the warmest part of the house. In Texas without central air conditioning a warm spot was not hard to find. After a few hours of allowing the dough to rise and punching it back down again, she'd roll them out, cut round shapes with a glass and place them in a cast iron skillet for baking. No one could replicate her biscuits fresh and flaky, hot out of the oven. Every morning whether she had company or not, there were fresh biscuits. Most afternoons, she started making her sour dough bread. She wouldn't even think of purchasing bread from the grocery no matter how convenient. I was fascinated. She rarely used cookbooks but the ones she had were old and worn and dog-eared. I think this is why I've always had a love for vintage cookbooks. I didn't really start collecting them until about five years ago and every time I venture into an antique shop or stop at a neighborhood yard sale, I look for old and unusual cookbooks and pamphlets.

Here's my collection. Hope you enjoy!

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

These are some of the most special in my collection.. Teena in the Kitchen was my mother's as a teenager. The scrapbook of recipes belonged to my great grandmother Buck and the book atop the scale was written by my great grandmother from East Texas. It's a collection of childhood stories, folklore, poetry and her favorite recipes. I have two binders with my own favorite recipes that I hope to one day pass along to those who will cherish them as much as I do these.