First edition (cf. Pritzel 6493; Vicaire, Bibliographie gastronomique, 610.)
Some foxing.
Contemporary half green sheep, the spine darkened and decorated with quadruple gilt fillets, red shagreen lettering-piece, joints rubbed, a gilt name at foot of spine, marbled boards, a few small defects to the edges, mottled edges.
An interesting study listing more than a thousand edible plants, including several little-known species that could, to advantage, be more widely used.
An alphabetical index provides the French names with cross-references to their Latin equivalents.
Some ten pages are devoted to coffee and more than twenty to tea; one also notes entries on the opium poppy, banana, avocado, cacao, the West Indian cherry, cassava, mango, Japanese medlar, the Saint-Domingue hazel, “pain de cassave”, pigeon pea, saffron, New Zealand pine, tamarind, the Chinese vampi, etc.
Provenance: "A. Chevalier" lettered in gilt at the foot of the spine.