SINGLE GIRLS COOKBOOK by HELEN GURLEY BROWN (First Edition)
Bernard Geis Associates Inc, 1969. First printing. 406 pages. Cute drawings by Frank Daniel. Jump into a groovy time capsule and travel back to the days when a woman who wanted to snag a man was advised to whip up a batch of "Pressed Beef in Red-Wine Jelly"! (I have been known to overuse exclamation points, but I have met my match in Ms. Gurley Brown!!!) My fave Gurley girlie tip: if you do not have a date, set the table, whip up a meal, and pretend you are having dinner with a fictional character like James Bond. Actually, there are plenty of decent recipes in here and it is not ALL about men--there are suggestions for feeding friends (real and imaginary), relatives, and party guests. Note: since Brown thanks Margo Rieman for her "invaluable assistance" I would assume that she actually came up with the recipes.
CONDITION: Interior is clean with no marks. Pages are crisp and white. There is some light foxing to endpapers, inside covers, and dustjacket flaps. Yellow and red cloth cover bright and in nice shape with some wear to top and bottom edges. Dustjacket has great vibrant color. It is price-clipped. No tears. Minor wear along top and bottom edges and spine folds. $25 SOLD!

THE CORDON BLEU COOKBOOK by DIANE LUCAS (First Edition)
Little, Brown, and Company, 1947. Appears to be a first edition but not stated. Drawings by Phoebe Nicol. "The finest French recipes from the internationally famous Cordon Bleu restaurants and schools, adapted for American home cooking." A nice collection of easy-to-prepare classic French recipes. In 1880, L'Ecole du Cordon Bleu was founded in Paris by Marthe Distel, not, primarily, for professional chefs, but for the daughters of upper and middle-class French families. Diane Lucas was an Englishwoman who became a student at the school in 1942 and was the first female graduate of Le Cordon Bleu. She opened the Cordon Bleu restaurant in New York. She was the first woman featured in a cooking show on television (before Julia Child.) She also once made stuffed squab for Hitler when she was a hotel chef in Hamburg.
CONDITION: Clean interior with no marks, notes, or underlining. Endpaper has old price in pencil upper right corner. Grey cloth cover with red and blue title and decorations has minor wear to top and bottom of spine. (The cloth cover illustration is actually quite attractive.) Dustjacket is price-clipped. Wear along top and bottom edge of dustjacket all around. Some chips, creases, and small tears along the top of the jacket and a little wear at bottom of jacket spine. $12 SOLD!

WINE-A GENTLEMAN'S GAME by Mark Miller (First Edition)
Harper and Row, 1984. 213 pages. Stated First Edition. Subtitle: "The Adventures of an Amateur Winemaker Turned Professional". Illustrated by the author. Miller founded Benmarl Vineyards on the site of America's oldest known vineyard in Marlborough-on-Hudson, New York. Miller had an interesting life even before he decided to devote his energies to winemaking. He was a costume designer for 20th Century Fox. Then he became a successful magazine and advertising illustrator, specializing in technically proficient (but sorta cheesy) romance imagery. Anyway, he turned a weekend hobby into a successful business when he purchased his winery with its original vines in 1956. You can still tour the vineyards today and don't forget to stop in the art gallery and buy a print of an smooching couple.
CONDITION: Interior is like new with crisp white pages and tight binding. Grey and maroon cloth cover looks great as well. Dustjacket is not price-clipped. Dustjacket has a few tiny chips and tears along the top and bottom edges. $8

THE ALICE B. TOKLAS COOKBOOK (First American Edition)
Harper and Brothers, 1954. Appears to be a First American edition although this is not stated. Illustrated by Sir Francis Rose. Famous cookbook by Gertrude Stein's main squeeze. Toklas wrote this cookbook at age 78. It contains over 350 carefully described recipes. But it is also a memoir of sorts, with reminiscences of meals shared with Picasso, Hemingway, and other notable figures. Note: Alas, this is not the addition with the hash cookie recipe. That infamous dessert was removed before the American edition came out. Comes with a review of the cookbook from Time Magazine (November 22, 1954) and a review of WHAT IS REMEMBERED (from 1963).
CONDITION: Lacks dust jacket. No marks or underlining on interior pages. Decorative endpapers have some browning to edges and a band of narrow water damage along the inside front and back covers along the top. Orange and green cloth cover has some wear to top and bottom of spine. $30 SOLD!

GERTRUDE JEKYLL ON GARDENING (First U.S. Edition)
David R. Godine, 1984. 336 pages with 4 colour plates, 24 b/w illustrations and 12 plans. Edited by Penelope Hobhouse. "A practical guide to the use of Jekyll's theories on color and plant arrangement." This anthology of the writings of one of England's most famous garden designers is organised on a month-by-month basis. Jekyll's teachings are translated into modern terms, without losing the essence of her romantic vision for the garden. Jekyll created over 350 gardens in England and abroad and her profound influence on garden design continues to this day. By the way, her nickname was "Bumps".
CONDITION: Interior is lovely, like new, except for a price in pencil in the upper right corner of the endpaper. Green cloth cover shows some bumping to spine and corners. Dustjacket is not clipped. Jacket has some short tears along the top and bottom all around. Also wear to corners and one chip and one crease. $12