Black Bean Soup from Feeding the Lions, 1942, Frank Case, First Edition, First Printing

Black Bean Soup from Feeding the Lions, 1942, Frank Case, First Edition, First Printing.

Black Bean Soup from Feeding the Lions, 1942, Frank Case, First Edition, First PrintingYes, we have the cookbook.  See it here:  https://vintagecookbook.com/product/feeding-the-lions-an-algonquin-cookbook-1942-first-edition-first-printing-nyc-1930s-and-1940s-celebrities/

Feeding the Lions: An Algonquin Cookbook, 1942.  This charming cookbook was written by Frank Case, the owner of the Algonquin.  It was published by The Greystone Press, New York, in 1942. The “Antipasto” chapter is pages and pages of famous names from the 1920s and 1930s, names of the literary lions, theatrical lions, and culinary lions who dined at the Algonquin Hotel and who participated in the writing of this book. The clever illustrations are by O. Soglow. This is a hardcover book with 255 pages. The chapters are true to cookbook style: Egg Dishes, Fish and Seafood, etc. The prose is chatty and colorful, with tales of the Algonquin and the famous people who ate there. Book includes boxed quotations from people like Groucho Marx, Edward G. Robinson, Jon Barrymore, Raymond Masse, Hedda Hopper, John O’Hara, and Lillian Gish. It has favorite dish recipes for famous people including Robert Benchley, Heywood Broun, Marc Connelly, George S. Kaufman, Harpo Marx, Dorothy Parker, Robert E. Sherwood, Alexander Woolcott, and Edna Ferber.  This cookbook also has an amazing index. It indexes dishes along with celebrity names. So, you go from Marx, Groucho to Meats–Asparagus with Ham Wrap-arounds. Or from Vanderbilt, Amy to Vegetables–Asparagus Parmesan.

This copy is a first edition, first printing copy in nearly mint condition.  The dust jacket is in sad shape with lots of little pieces missing along the top and a tear down the spine.  It is now safely encased in Mylar.  The cover of the book has brilliant red linen over the boards.  Pages are all clean and clear.  Binding is sound. Hinges are perfect. There’s no name or inscription.  Feeding the Lions is a difficult-to-find title.