Recipe manuscript - school project at a woman's college c1831

Ann Augusta Forman Cooley (1810-1890) filled this composition book with recipes, possibly started as a school project. Raised a Quaker in NJ, then from 1828 to 1831 she attended Van Doren's Collegiate Institute for Young Ladies in Brooklyn Heights, perhaps the first woman's college. Click images to enlarge.

Medical and culinary manuscripts digitized

Recipes and Remedies: Manuscript Cookbooks is a new Digital Collections & Exhibits website at the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM). Manuscript Cookbooks Survey is a great source to find manuscripts in libraries, his. soc. and museums.

Cookbooks and Manuscripts virtual talks tapes

Taped talks on cookbooks and manuscripts: Medieval and Renaissance, US, Suffrage ckbks, Mexico, Ireland, India, Medical books with recipes, Manuscript ckbks, Folger & Newberry symposium. 2020 was the celebration of 100 years since women earned the right to vote, resulted in three tapes on suffrage cookbooks. Manuscripts are a rich source of culinary and medicinal recipes.
Upcoming talks at the end.

Charles Darwin and... rice??

Emma Darwin kept a small handwritten recipe book, and about fifty of her recipes with modern interpretations are in Mrs. Charles Darwin's Recipe Book which also contains a lengthy information section.   Several of the recipes had differences from others in contemporary cookbooks, such as almonds replacing chestnuts in the Nesselrode ice cream...

Woodrow Wilson and Mother's Day

Mother's Day is this Sunday.  President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother's Day on May 9, 1914.  His mother, Jesse Woodrow Wilson, 1826-1888, wrote a handwritten recipe book. Among the recipes was one labeled - "Woodrow's favorite - Charlotte Russe" see below...

Research at Historical Societies and Manuscript cookbooks in print

There is a wealth of information in historical societies, from large old state collections, such as Maryland’s, started in 1844, to a one room local county. The oldest, founded in 1791, is the Massachusetts Historical Society.  Below, is a list of manuscript cookbooks in print.