Augusta W. Pinkus household recipes

This manuscript recipe book was created by Augusta W. Pinkus of Long Island, New York, between 1916 and 1923.

Pinkus began her book with sections on hors d’oeuvres and soups, after which she organized her recipes alphabetically by category, beginning with beverages and ending with sandwiches. She recorded her recipes in black ink, but often included pencil annotations in the margins, commenting on the success or failure of a preparation. Pinkus crossed out several recipes that did not produce good results. In addition to ingredient lists and instructions, Pinkus occasionally noted where she got the recipe and how many people it served. She pasted in numerous recipes clipped from newspapers, including many from Delmonico’s restaurant in Manhattan. While most of her attributed recipes came from neighbors on Long Island, some from 1916 came from residents of La Crescenta, California, suggesting a trip to the West Coast. Pinkus identified recipes she created herself with the initials “A.W.P.”

Pinkus occasionally referenced brand-name foodstuffs in her recipes, such as Knox Gelatine, Jell-O, Wesson Oil, and Crisco. She noted that several recipes came from magazines, such as Good Housekeeping and Modern Priscilla. Only a few recipes clipped from magazines and newspapers referenced the dish’s nutritional content.

On the inside cover of the recipe book, Pinkus listed a number of “inexpensive dishes” she could prepare. These included codfish cakes, Irish stew, and Campbell’s soup. On the back flyleaf, she recorded the best months to preserve and pickle a variety of foodstuffs. On the inside of the back cover, Pinkus listed the foodstuffs and household goods she had in her preserve closet and storeroom. These items included jams, pickles, “muscatelle” wine, evaporated milk, Babbitt’s cleanser, and Ivory soap.

The volume is bound with brown cloth over boards and red cloth covering the corners. A label on the front cover reads “Augusta W. Pinkus/Household Recipes/1916” in black ink. The front and back covers of the volume are decorated with a black scrolling border. A handwritten inscription in black ink on the front flyleaf reads “Augusta W. Pinkus/1916.” The volume consists of 298 pages of lined, numbered paper, and contains approximately 170 pages of recipes.