The Compleat Housewife

The Compleat Housewife, or Accomplish'd Gentlewoman's Companion, written by "Eliza Smith" and originally published in London, England in 1727, - [http://www.americanantiquarian.org/cookbooks.htm - HOUSEHOLD WORDS: Women Write from and for the Kitchen] URL last accessed 2007-04-25] is considered the first cookbook to ever be published in the United States. - [http://www.library.upenn.edu/exhibits/rbm/aresty/007.html - Penn Library, Cookbooks] URL last accessed 2007-04-25] The Compleat Housewife contained not only recipes, but also directions for painting rooms, removing mildew, and home remedies for treating ailments, such as smallpox. - [http://research.history.org/JDRLibrary/Special_Collections/Treasures/treasureCooking.cfm research.history.org - The Compleat Housewife] URL last accessed 2007-04-25]

The Compleat Housewife was published in the United States for the first time in 1742, by William Parks, a Williamsburg, Virginia printer. He printed and sold the cookbook, believing that there was a strong market for it with Virginia housewives who wished to be current with the London fashion. ] Parks was the founder of the "Maryland Gazette" (now known as the "The Capital"), and published a number of minor books and pamphlets before printing The Compleat Housewife, which became his major book publication. The book that was published in America was the fifth London edition, which was a best seller of the time. - [http://www.chowdc.org/Papers/van%20Devanter%202004.html chowdc.org - The Cookbook in America: A History Talk given by Willis van Devanter to the Culinary Historians of Washington, DC October 3, 2004] URL last accessed 2006-12-08]

During the 18th century, British books including The Compleat Housewife were reprinted in Boston, New York and Philadelphia. When The Compleat Housewife was printed in 1742, Parks made an attempt to have the cookbook altered to American "taste", deleting certain recipes, "the ingredients or materials for which are not to be had in this country." - [http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/intro_essay.html digital.lib.msu.edu - Feeding America] URL last accessed 2006-12-09]

When Eliza Smith wrote The Compleat Housewife, she showed "her self-assurance to attack English attitudes toward food and women cooks." In the book's preface, Smith chides the male culinary writers of her time. She claimed that they concealed their best recipes from the public. - [http://spec.lib.vt.edu/culinary/CulinaryThymes/2005_07/cookbooks.html Culinary Thymes - Understanding Women's Lives through their Cookbooks] the section that is referenced is from the book "Cookbooks Worth Collecting" by Mary Barile. See footnote section in the referenced article. URL last accessed 2006-12-09] The Compleat Housewife title page describes the book as a

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References

*"The Compleat Housewife" (title page) (1742). Eliza Smith ISBN 0-85-321001-2