The Most Expensive Cookbooks Ever Sold on Abebooks

The majority of the ingredients may have been basic, but these recipe books were worth their weight when sold. [A Guide to Collecting Cookbooks]
1. La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise Menon This is an anonymous translation of Menon's La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise (the French Family Cookbook) that was originally published in 1746. This is arguably one of the most influential cookbooks in history and helped define the genre. Sold for $1751.43 [Find this book]	2. The Practice of Cookery Pastry and Confectionary  Mrs. Frazer This popular Scottish cookbook from the early 19 th century was inspired by Susanna Maciver, whom Mrs Frazer succeeded as head of a culinary school for women in Edinburgh. Trussed hares, boiled fowls, haricot of mutton and ducks ragoo'd are on the menu. Sold for $650 [Find this Book]
3. Modern Domestic Cookery and Useful Receipt Book Elizabeth Hammond This 7 th edition from 1828 shows how your great, great, great grandmother bought, preserved and cooked every kind of meat, fish, poultry and game, including trussing, carving, potting and pickling as well as soups, gravies and sauces. Sold for $600 [Find this Book]	4. Soyer's Cookery Alexis Soyer An 1854 first edition from the world’s first celebrity chef, Soyer rose to prominence in Paris but moved to London in 1830. He worked for several nobles and the Reform Club, and became an innovative kitchen and stove designer. He developed soup kitchens in Dublin during the Irish Famine and also advised on how to improve rations for English soldiers in the Crimean War. Sold for $585 [Find this Book]
5. French Country Cooking Elizabeth David This is a second edition from 1958 of David’s landmark cookbook that sparked interest in all aspects of French cuisine from peasant soups to dishes of the gentry. This book inspired a generation of modern cooks. Sold for $452.74 [Find this Book]	6. The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook Alice B. Toklas This 1954 first edition recalls the Bohemian era of Paris in the first half of the 20 th century and was the personal copy of food writer Roy Andries de Groot. Toklas was Gertrude Stein’s companion, lover, cook, and secretary. The poet and feminist’s 1933 memoir was teasing called The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas. The most infamous recipe in Toklas’ book is Hashisch Fudge - a mixture of fruit, nuts, spices and cannabis. Sold for $447 [Find this Book]
7. The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy Hannah Glasse First published in 1747, this cookbook contains 972 recipes and was a bestseller for almost 100 years. Glasse wrote in an easy-to-understand style for the lower classes that had to cook for wealthy. Practical phrases like "as much thyme as will lie on a six-pence" are commonplace. It contains the first recorded curry recipe. Sold for $397 [Find this Book]	8. Rebecca's Cookbook Rebecca West Rebecca West was the pseudonym of Cicely Isabel Fairfield – the British/Irish feminist and writer. She was also the mistress of HG Wells for 10 years. Originally trained as an actress, she wrote for The New Yorker and The New Republic, and traveled widely reporting on the Nuremberg Trials among other events. Sold for $350 [Find this Book]
9. Cooking and Dining in Imperial Rome Apicius (translated by Joseph Dommers Vehling) This is a first edition 1936 English translation of the oldest known cookbook dating from the 3 rd century AD. It gives a valuable historical insight into the diets of wealthy Romans. F ig fed pork, salt fish balls in wine sauce, nut custard turnovers and rose pie were popular in Rome. Sold for $300 [Find this Book]	10. Anglo-Indian Cookery at Home: A Short Treatise for Returned Exiles by the Wife of a Retired Indian Army Officer Author Unknown The unknown author spent 23 years of married life in India and her book was intended to educate English servants how the upper crust ate in on the Sub-Continent. Pea-fowl mulligatawny soup, prawn powder pepper water soup, tamarind fish, fresh mutton curry, Goanese tasta and banana pudding are among the recipes. Sold for $261 [Collectible Indian Cooking Books]