First edition. This is the first bibliography to list all known editions of printed cookbooks published in Europe before 1700. More than a hundred titles in at least 650 editions were printed in fourteen different languages. Some household encyclopedias with culinary sections have also been included. Many of the editions described have never before been listed in modern bibliographies.
Cookbooks from this period are no longer only of interest to collectors and antiquarians. Food history is taught as an academic subject in an increasing number of universities, and this bibliography will be a useful tool for students of culinary literature, as a source for the history of cuisine and food culture. Also, book and literary historians are turning their attention to different forms of non-fiction that had not been properly studied until now: practical handbooks and didactic "how-to" books, of which cookbooks are distinctive examples. Information provided here about the locations of known copies, modern reprints, and facsimile editions will facilitate these studies.
The bibliography gives the full title and physical description of each work. Annotations provide details about contents, biographical data about authors and publishers, information about the sources of the recipes, translations, and plagiarisms. A historical introduction analyzes the development of the cookbook as a genre during the first two centuries of printing, with reference to authorship, publishing history, didactic methods, culinary processes, and differences in gender.

Contributions by: J.A. Gruys