F.L. Toppin collection of branded product cookbooks and recipes, 1920s-1950s

This collection consists of cookbooks, recipe booklets, and newspaper clippings with household hints incorporating brand-name products, dating from the 1920s to the 1950s.

The cookbooks and recipe booklets in this collection were produced by large food manufacturers to dispense household hints and promote their products. Most of these materials outlined standard weights and measurements and specified level measurements of flour and other ingredients. The manufacturers focused heavily on their products’ purity. The Calumet Baking Powder Company claimed that their product was “chemically correct, as it is made by the most modern methods,” while the makers of Ceresota Not Bleached Flour noted that they had “never yielded to the temptation to ‘doctor’ their fine flour.” A pamphlet produced by the manufacturers of Alka-Seltzer provided an overview of the five years of clinical research conducted on their product. Although these cookbooks and booklets were created to promote a branded product, not all of the recipes included the baking powder, flour, or corn starch being advertised. Many booklets added “household hints” about laundry, stain removal, and housecleaning.

This collection also includes a group of clippings and notes that were laid in the Rumford Complete Cook Book. Most of these items were clipped from Wilmington, Delaware, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, newspapers and provided recipes for pickles, preserves, pies, and other dishes. There are also several newspaper clippings with information on sewing, cleaning, and gardening. Among these items is a postcard dated 1922 from Atlantic City, New Jersey, addressed to Miss F.L. Toppin of New Castle, Delaware. It is likely that Toppin clipped these recipes and created the handwritten recipes and grocery lists in this grouping.