[1758]

The 'Cook's Pocket Companion' is a VERY rare book (the number of copies in academic libraries appears to be limited to The National Library of Medicine at the US National Institutes of Health [a similar 1758 edition, just acquired in 2008] and in the Brotherton Library at Leeds University [a 1760 Edition printed for Thomas Caslon in London] ). In all probability this is probably the first edition and one of the few in existence at that - presuming there are some other copies in private collections). Neither the British Library nor Wellcome Foundation Library appear to have copies in their collections. Unlike some other cookery and medical titles of the period, this volume is exactly what its title proclaims being a 'Pocket Companion' of 143 pages and measuring about 10cm by 18cm with a few woodcuts which, along with parts of the text, have been digitally restored from a sometimes badly battered copy (examples below) which also has a few missing pages after the centuries.

Examples of the Digital Restoration of parts of Honeywood's rare volume. PLUS The British Flora: Properties of British Plants [1812], by Robert Thornton Properties of British Plants forms the fifth volume of a large work that Thornton undertook to improve upon (as he saw it) the Linnaean system of classifying plants. For Vol. 5 he drew largely upon information from previous writers such as Ray, Lightfoot and Linnaeus himself rather than bringing his own knowledge to the field of plant usage. Still, it gives some idea of what were the accepted uses of certain plants found within the British Isles. UK Price: £10 incl. P&P. [Buy this CD-ROM title plus another title and get both for £9 each. Buy all 3 titles, and get each title for £8 including P&P. Further discounts for multi-title CD-ROM purchases.]

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