Warne's Model Cookery Mary Jewry 1868 People's Edition Colour Plates
 
Bibliographic Details
Title: People's Edition. Warne's Model Cookery and Housekeeping Book Containing Complete Instructions in Household Management
Compiled and edited by: Mary Jewry
Publisher: Frederick Warne & Co., London and Scribner, Welford & Armstrong, New York
Printer: Savill, Edwards & Co., Chandos Street, Covent Garden
Date: 1868
Edition: People's Edition, first printing (1868)
 
Historical & Bibliographic Context
This attractive Victorian cookery book was produced as an affordable version of Frederick Warne's successful Model Cookery Book, intended specifically for households with modest incomes. The preface, dated May 1868, explains that practical recipes were carefully selected to meet the needs of everyday Victorian families while still including dishes suitable for entertaining.
Far more than simply a cookbook, it serves as an invaluable guide to nineteenth-century domestic life, covering household management, marketing, carving, seasonal food, preserving, wines, cookery for the sick and practical household advice. Particularly fascinating is the opening section giving recommended weekly food quantities for men and women, providing an authentic insight into Victorian standards of living.
The book is enhanced by attractive original colour plates printed by the celebrated chromolithographers Kronheim, together with numerous in-text illustrations of food preparation, carving, kitchen utensils and butchery.
 
About the Compiler
Mary Jewry was a Victorian compiler and editor of practical domestic manuals, producing accessible cookery books designed to improve household management for ordinary families.
 
Binding & Exterior
Quarter bound in the publisher's original green and red cloth with blind stamped decoration and gilt lettering to the front board and spine.
The binding remains complete, but the boards have become detached from the text block. There is rubbing to the extremities, bumping to the corners, small splits along the spine edges and general age-related wear. Despite this structural fault, the original binding survives well and retains attractive shelf presence.
 
Interior Condition
The text block remains securely bound. The pages are lightly toned with occasional small marks and light creasing consistent with careful Victorian use. There are no inscriptions, no missing pages and no page tears.
All four original Kronheim colour plates are present, together with the numerous in-text illustrations.
 
Physical Details
Publisher: Frederick Warne & Co.
Date: 1868
Edition: People's Edition (first printing)
Pages: Complete with all 156 pages
Illustrations: Four original colour plates by Kronheim plus numerous illustrations throughout
Binding: Original publisher's quarter cloth
Dimensions: Approximately 18 × 12.3 × 1.4 cm
Weight: Approximately 198 g
 
Rarity & Collector Notes
The 1868 People's Edition is scarce.
Although Warne's cookery books enjoyed considerable popularity, early People's Editions survive far less frequently than later Victorian cookery books. Complete examples retaining all colour plates are increasingly difficult to locate.
Collectors value this edition for:
its early publication date 
complete set of Kronheim colour plates 
Victorian domestic history 
practical nineteenth-century recipes 
original publisher's binding 
fascinating household advice 
The detached boards reduce collector value, but the book remains an appealing example of Victorian culinary publishing.