Dear Reader,
Browsing through the 1949 cookbook that's been sitting on my shelf for the past 30 years, it felt like an Antiques Roadshow experience...
Have you seen the show? Folks bring in items, "things" from their homes they think might be valuable, and an expert takes a look and gives them an appraisal. Sometimes the expert confirms the garage sale "thing" was worth the $5.00 they paid for it, but other times the "thing" ends up being "Cha-ching!"--a valuable collector's item that would sell for $15,000 at auction.
The first question the Roadshow expert always asks:
"Suzanne, what do you know about this 1949 cookbook?"
"This cookbook, Our Favorite Recipes belonged to my Grandma Hale. (I know, because Grandma put her mark on everything she owned. 'Lillian Hale' was printed with permanent marker on the bottom of Tupperware, dishes, underwear, books, vases, even the living room sofa read 'Lillian Hale' underneath, just in case the neighbor's needed to borrow it sometime. 'Hmm, Andy, we borrowed this sofa from one of the neighbors, do you remember who it belongs to?')"
(The Roadshow appraiser replies:) "Well, I did some checking into this cookbook Suzanne and there's an interesting story behind it. As you can see, the copyright is 1949 and it was compiled and published by The Ladies of St. John's Guild in West Bend, Wisconsin. After World War II, the congregation decided to build a new church. The church ladies wanted to install a 'real' kitchen (hot water, counters, cabinets, appliances), but knew they'd have to find a way to raise the money to pay for it. They were excellent cooks and had established a reputation in the community, so they decided to put together a cookbook as a fundraiser. Each of the 353 recipes were handwritten by volunteers, using an ink dip pen. Pages were proofread (including looking for ink smudges), and if any mistakes were found the entire page had to be redone.
The original plan was to publish 300 cookbooks, but the husband of a committee member persuaded the ladies to order 3,000 copies, and he offered to put up the money, interest free. The cookbook received so much publicity, the 3,000 cookbooks sold in only three months. It was reprinted and over 200,000 have been sold. Suzanne, the cookbook your grandmother left you, is from the 2nd printing and she got a real deal. Grandma paid $2.00 for her book; if you sold your spiral bound, second-printing copy at auction today, it might be priceless because it says ‘Unavailable’ on Amazon. Cha-ching!"
Of course I'd never give away Grandma Hale's cookbook, because it is "priceless" to me. But to my surprise, when I was sorting things this past weekend, I discovered a second copy of the 1949 cookbook. Why Grandma bought two books, I don't know. But lucky for you, I'm giving away the second copy to a book club reader. To enter the drawing, click here.
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
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