A Collection of Receipts in Cookery Physick and Surgery for the use of all Good Wives, Tender Mothers, and Careful Nurses

The 1724 third edition of A Collection of Above Three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick and Surgery is a monumental landmark in early Georgian domestic literature. The book’s famously comforting subtitle defines its exact targeted audience: "for the Use of all Good Wives, Tender Mothers, and Careful Nurses." This volume represents a vital historical shift away from lavish courtly feast manuals toward a practical, household-driven guide designed specifically for the emerging middle class. The layout operates as a fascinating hybrid text block, dividing its contents cleanly between culinary preparations on one side and domestic medicine, unguents, and home surgery remedies on the other. Notably, the book holds immense gastronomic fame for containing the first printed recipe in history for orange marmalade, alongside foundational, early modern recipes for Christmas plum pudding and suet pudding.

This scarce 1724 printing holds unique bibliographic significance for collectors as it represents the definitive structural stabilization of Kettilby's work during her active lifetime. While the slim 1714 first edition contained only the core receipts, this third edition fully integrates a highly prized "Second Part". This supplemental section compiled a massive array of excellent, community-sourced formulas for preserving and conserving sweetmeats, which readers and housewives had actively mailed in to the publisher following the initial printings. By serving as a collaborative, multi-authored forum for 18th-century women's domestic expertise, the text set a foundational framework that heavily inspired later culinary icons like Hannah Glasse.

20th century binding with marbled boards and three-quarter leather binding. Five raised bands and gilt lettering to spine. Tear halfway through page 103. Some damp staining to first half of the pages. Chipping along edges of first two pages. General browning throughout along with some foxing. Some scuffing to upper board and slight edgewear to lower edge. Fine condition.