one of the nicest reviews I’ve ever had
DAVID, Elizabeth. Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen sold with a handwritten postcard from Elizabeth David. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. 1970.
8vo. Original card wrappers, photographic front cover, lettered in white to front and black and orange to spine, with printed price of 35p or 7/- to back; pp. 279, [1 (blank)]; usual fading (especially to spine) but free from spotting and soiling, some wear to edges; else very good.
[with:] A postcard (150 x 105 mm) showing a South Indian bedspread in the Victoria and Albert Museum, with a handwritten note by Elizabeth David to verso in light blue pencil, dated December 5th, 1970; edges very slightly worn with a light crease to the top-right corner, otherwise very well preserved; near fine.
First edition, first printing, with, loosely laid in, a handwritten postcard from Elizabeth David warmly thanking one of the book’s reviewers.
Issued as a paperback original, Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen explores the origins and uses of spices and aromatics in English cooking, emphasising the influence of centuries of oriental trade and travel on domestic cookery. Written with David’s characteristic flair and generously filled with recipes, the book remains in print to this day.
In the handwritten note to the verso of the postcard with this copy, David warmly thanks the journalist Ena McPherson (not named) for her recent review of the book, noting that “[y]our article about my spice book is one of the nicest reviews I’ve ever had”.
SKU: 2124139