Elisabeth Ayrton -- English Provincial Cooking Mitchell Beazley 1980 . VG bright copy in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 224pp. Illustrated. 1st edition of an excellent book. £ 8

Sarah Benjamin -- A Castle In Tuscany; The Remarkable Life of Janet Ross Pier 9 2006 . Mint in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 224pp. Illustrated. 1st edition. £ 10

Maggie Black (Introduction) -- A Taste of Honey, 10,000 Years of Food in Britain English Heritage 1993 . VG in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 351pp. Ilustrated. 1st edition. £ 10

Arabella Boxer -- Mediterranean Cook Book Weidenfeld & Nicolson 1981 . VG bright copy in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 256pp. Illustrated with Photographs by Tessa Traeger. 1st edition of excellent and elusive book. £ 10

Antonio Carluccio -- Passion for Pasta  BBC 1993 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like slightly creased dustjacket. 192pp. Illustrated throughout. 1st edition of this classic title. The author's passion for Italian food began when he was a child in his mother's kitchen, and continues now at his Neal Street Restaurant in London. In this book he presents a range of pasta-based recipes for soups, main courses, salads and even desserts. £ 5

Maureen / D. M. / Hugh Carroll / Hadley / Willmott (Ed) -- Consuming Passions: Dining from Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century Tempus 2005 . Near Fine in publishers decorated wrappers. 188pp. Illustrated. 1st edition. This multidisciplinary book explores the social practice of dining over 2000 years, examining the archaeological, documentary, material culture and art historical evidence for the consumption of food and drink in various historical, social and cultural contexts. The authors look at the locations for dining and the concomitant decoration, furniture and tableware. They explore the norms for appropriate and inappropriate behaviour and the rituals of dining, such as food preparation and presentation, the serving of food and its means of consumption. £ 8

Terence Conran -- Alcazar to Zinc; The Story of Conran Restaurants Conran Octopus 2001 . Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 192pp. Illustrated throughout. 1st edition. Alcazar to Zinc is Terence Conran's study of his greatest passion - the 42 restaurants bars cafes and delis he has created in London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham, Paris, Stockholm and New York. Terence reveals the secrets behind the success of the Conran Restaurants and unfolds the history of each one, accompanied by their signature menus and illustrated with atmospheric photographs of the front of house as well as behind the scenes. He discusses the unique challenges and design philosophies of each establishment as well as its individual approaches to food and service. A deeply personal review of the work of the most successful restaurateur of our times, Alcazar to Zinc offers a fascinating insight into this dedicated world of food. £ 20

Cre-Fydd's Family Fare -- The Young Housewife's Daily Assistant in all matters relating to Cookery and Housekeeping Containing Bills of Family Fare for Every day in the Year, which include Breakfast and Dinner for a Small Family and Dinner for Two Servants; also Twelve Bills of Fa Simpkin Marshall 1866 . VG bright and tight copy in publishers decorated cloth with gilt lettering to spine. clx + 340pp. Revised Edition of title first printed in 1864. Digital Image on request. £ 50

Rupert Croft - Cooke -- Port Putnam 1957 . VG bright copy in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 219pp. 1st edition. £ 10

Elizabeth David -- An Omelette and a Glass of Wine Jill Norman / Hale 1984 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 318pp. Illustrated. 1st edition of an attractive book. £ 25

Elizabeth David -- French Country Cooking Dorling Kindersley 1987 . Ownership Inscription else Near Fine copy in publishers cloth in like price clipped dustjacket. 224pp. Illustrated with photographs and the original John Minton line illustrations. Reprint. £ 10

Sarah Edington -- The Captain's Table: Life and Dining on the Great Ocean Liners National Maritime Museum 2005 . Fine in publishers decorated boards. 128pp. Illustrated. To sail First Class on the great ocean liners was to experience the last word in luxury and service. The Captain’s Table recalls not only the glamour and excitement of life on board the great ocean liners, but also captures the rich creativity of the cuisine. The author has expertly recreated some of the classic recipes from the First, Second and Tourist class dining rooms of the period for today’s cook, to which she has added fascinating anecdotes about their origins. Sumptuously illustrated with the original menu cards from which the recipe ideas are taken, this book brings to life the glamour of the cruise liner in its heyday and allows us to recapture some of its magic. £ 10

Nick Fiddes -- Meat: A Natural Symbol Routledge 1991 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 261pp. 1st edition. "Meat" is a provocative study of the human passion for meat. It addresses such questions as why meat is important to us; why we eat some animals but not others; why vegetarianism is increasing; why we aren't cannibals; and how meat is associated with environmental destruction. Nick Fiddes argues that meat's primary cultural importance is founded on its representing to us the domination we have sought over nature - not as individuals, but as members of a society which has historically placed great value on that power. The book draws on original research and analyzes academic work, trade journals, advertisements, the popular press, fiction and film. It is illustrated by quotes from conversations with farmers, butchers, vegetarian campaigners, and members of the general public. Placing western preferences in a historical and cross-cultural context, the book questions the rationality of much that we take for granted, and explains many inconsistencies and incongruities in our behaviour. This book should be of interest to students of sociology and anthropology. £ 15

Leslie Forbes -- Remarkable Feasts: Adventures on the Food Trail from Baton Rouge to Old Peking Bloomsbury 1991 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 224pp. Illustrated throughout. 1st edition. This presents a celebration of food and a pageant of people enjoying themselves all over the world. It encompasses public feasts, such as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the mid-autumn Moon Festival in China and the New Year Water Festival in Thailand, as well as Jewish Passover dinner in the South of France. The text is illustrated by the author. Liz Forbes is the author and illustrator of "A Table in Tuscany", "A Table in Provence" and she writes a cookery column for the "Sunday Correspondent". £ 10

Clifford M. Foust -- Rhubarb: The Wondrous Drug Princeton University Press 1992 . Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 371pp. 1st edition of an elusive book. An Asian plant with mysterious cathartic powers, medicinal rhubarb spurned European trade expeditions and obsessive scientific inquiry from the Renaissance until the 20th century. Rarely, however, had there been a plant that so thoroughly frustrated Europeans' efforts to acquire it and to master its special botanical and chemical properties. This study traces the efforts of the explorers, traders, botanists, gardeners, physicians and pharmacists who tried to adapt rhubarb for convenient use in Europe. The history includes sections on the geographic and economic importance of rhubarb, which explain how the plant became a major state monopoloy for Russia and an important commodity for the East India companies. There is also a discussion of rhubarb's emergence as an international culinary craze during the 19th and 20th centuries. £ 60

Philippa / Hilary Glanville / Young (Ed) -- Elegant Eating: Four Hundred Years of Dining in Style  V&A 2002 . Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 144pp. Illustrated throughout in colour. 1st edition of detailed title. Surveying the art of fine dining in Europe from the 16th century to the present, this book concentrates on the art of decorating the table, following the courses of a grand dinner from cocktails to dessert. From flowers and garlands to porcelain, silverware and centrepieces, the many different items created for eating and drinking in style are shown in a rich variety of settings. Introductory sections on dining ceremony and furnishing set the scene, which moves from grand palaces with sumptuous 18th- and 19th-century table settings, to the bare oak favoured by William Morris, or more intimate private dining rooms and stylish modern interiors. Unusual illustrations, ranging from Elizabethan spice dishes, Italian baroque ice sculpture and Georgian novelty tablewares to emphatically modern Scandinavian ceramics, are shown alongside a wealth of paintings, historical photographs and original designs revealing an astonishingly rich visual heritage. Expert curators and art historians draw on a range of sources such as diaries, novels and manuals of polite behaviour to evoke a vanishing world of arcane etiquette, elegance, luxury and taste.International in outlook, "Elegant Eating" combines a rich array of individual items used to dress the table - many from the collections at the V&A - and authentic historical settings to give them context. In addition, set piece table layouts in the historic manner have been specially created for this book, which should be an inspiration to anyone with an interest in style and interior design. Surveying the art of fine dining in Europe from the 16th century to the present, this book concentrates on the art of decorating the table, following the courses of a grand dinner from cocktails to dessert. From flowers and garlands to porcelain, silverware and centrepieces, the many different items created for eating and drinking in style are shown in a rich variety of settings. £ 45

Jane Grigson -- Exotic Fruits and Vegetables Cape 1986 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in slightly dusty dustjacket with small closed tear to head of spine. 128pp. Illustrated throughout with stunning collection of colour Illustrations by Charlotte Knox. 1st edition of most attractive book. £ 15

Sophie Grigson -- Sophie's Table Michael Joseph 1990 . Ownership Signature else VG bright copy in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 288pp. Illustrated. 1st edition. £ 5

Claude / Paul Guermont / Frumkin -- The Norman Table; The Traditional Cooking of Normandy Scribners 1985 . Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 297pp. Illustrated. 1st edition. £ 20

Marilyn R. Harris -- Tropical Fruit Cookbook   University of Hawaii Press 1993 . Fine in publishers decorated boards (still shrink wrapped). 196pp. Illustrated throughout. 1st edition. £ 10

Dorothy Hartley -- Food in England Macdonald 1969 . Inscription on pastedown else VG bright copy in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 676pp. Illustrated throughout. Reprint of Classic Study. £ 35

Annette Hope -- Caledonian Feast: Scottish Cuisine Through the Ages Mainstream 1987 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 333pp. Illustrated. 1st edition of an attractive book. £ 10

Robin Howe -- Middle Eastern Cookery Eyre Methuen 1978 . VG bright copy in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 189pp. Illustrated with line drawings by Tony Streek. 1st edition. £ 5

Harvey Levenstein -- Revolution at the Table Oxford University Press 1988 . One corner slightly bumped else Fine copy in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 275pp. 1st edition. This book examines the changes in diet and food habits of Americans that took place from 1880 to 1930. The best known change was decreasing calorie intake and the increasing concern with obesity. Related to diet changes were the great social and economic forces affecting American society in these years: changing agricultural techniques, improvements in transportation and communication, industrialization, urbanization, immigration patterns, and changes in business organization. The author also focuses on new attitudes towards food - what came to be known as the New Nutrition. The book begins with American food habits in 1880 and how radically different they are today; attempts in the years before the First World War to change first the middle-class diet and then the working-class diet; changing ideas about feeding infants; changing ideas towards food in the 1920s (including Prohibition, diet fads, and the decline of conspicuous consumption of food); and finally, dietary change and the health of Americans. £ 20

Vivienne Lo -- 150 Recipes from the Teahouse Faber 1997 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 304pp. Illustrated. 1st edition. £ 10

Simonetta / Angelo Lupi / Sorizo -- The Illustrated Book of Preserves Aurum 1986 . VG bright copy in publishers laminated boards.207pp. Illustrated throughout. 1st edition. £ 10

Jeremy MacClancy -- Consuming Culture: Why We Eat What We Eat and What it Says About Us Chapmans 1992 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 246pp. 1st edition. £ 10

Giles MacDonagh -- A Palate in Revolution: Grimod de la Reyniere and the Almanach des Gourmands Robin Clark 1987 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 242pp. 1st edition. £ 15

Giles MacDonogh -- Brillat-Savarin: The Judge and His Stomach  Dee 1992 . Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 248pp. 1st edition. £ 10

Stephen Mennell -- All Manners of Food; Eating and Taste in England and France from the Middle Ages to the Present Blackwell (Oxford) 1985 . VG bright copy in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 380pp. Illustrated. 1st edition of an elusive book. £ 20

Gerard Oberle -- Les Fastes de Bacchus et de Comus ou Histoire Du Boire Et Du Manger En Europe, De L'Antiquité A Nos Jours, A Travers Les Livres Belfonds 1989 . Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket in bumped slipcase. 642pp. Illustrated throughout. 1st edition of Catalogue of 1181 items published in conjunction with an Auction of Books. £ 125

Claudia Roden -- The Food of Italy Chatto and Windus 1989 . Near Fine in publishers laminated boards in like slightly creased dustjacket. 1st edition of classic title. £ 8

Trudie / Joseph Styler / Sponzo -- Cooking from Lake House Organic Farm Ebury 1999 . Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 224pp. Illustrated throughout. £ 20

Michael Symons -- A History of Cooks and Cooking University of Illinois Press 2000 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 388pp. 1st edition. Never has there been so little need to cook. Yet Michael Symons maintains that to be truly human we need to become better cooks: practical and generous sharers of food. Fueled by James Boswell's definition of humans as cooking animals (for 'no beast can cook'), Symons sets out to explore the civilizing role of cooks in history. His wanderings take us to the clay ovens of the prehistoric eastern Mediterranean and the bronze cauldrons of ancient China, to fabulous banquets in the temples and courts of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Persia, to medieval English cookshops and southeast Asian street markets, to palace kitchens, diners, and to modern fast-food eateries.Symons samples conceptions and perceptions of cooks and cooking, from Plato and Descartes to Marx and Virginia Woolf, asking why cooks, despite their vital and central role in sustaining life, have remained in the shadows, unheralded, unregarded, and underappreciated. 'People think of meals as occasions where you share food', he notes. 'They rarely think of cooks as sharers of food'. Considering such notions as the physical and political consequences of sauce, connections between food and love, and cooking as a regulator of clock and calendar, Symons provides a spirited and diverting defense of a cook-centered view of the world. Michael Symons is the author of "One Continuous Picnic: A History of Eating in Australia" and "The Shared Table". £ 15

Joan Thirsk -- Food in Early Modern England: Phases, Fads, Fashions Continuum 2006 . Fine in publishers decorated boards. 396pp. 1st edition. What did ordinary people eat and drink five hundred years ago? How much did they talk about food? Did their eating habits change much? Our documents are mostly silent on such commonplace routines, but this book digs deep and finds surprising answers to these questions. Food fads and fashions resembled those of our own day. Commercial, scientific and intellectual movements were closely entwined with changing attitudes and dealings about food. In short, food holds a mirror to a lively world of cultural change stretching from the Renaissance to the industrial Revolution. This book also strongly challenges the notion that ordinary folk ate dull and monotonous meals. £ 25

Margaret Visser -- The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolution, Eccentricities and the Meaning of Table Manners Viking 1992 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 1st edition of an elusive title. £ 15

Patricia Wells -- Cuisine Actuelle: Patricia Wells Presents the Cuisine of Joel Robuchon Macmillan 1993 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 327pp. 1st edition. £ 10

Barbara Ketcham Wheaton -- Savouring the Past: The French Kitchen & Table from 1300 to 1789 Chatto & Windus 1983 . Near Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 341pp. Illustrated. 1st edition of comprehensive detailed study. £ 24

C. Anne Wilson -- Luncheon, Nuncheon and Other Meals: Eating with the Victorians (Food & Society) Sutton 1994 . VG bright copy in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 192pp. Illustrated. 1st edition. £ 8

C. Anne Wilson (Ed) -- "Banquetting Stuffe": The Fare and Social Background of the Tudor and Stuart Banquet Edinburgh University Press 1991 . VG bright copy in publishers cloth in like dustjacket. 159pp. Errata slip. 1st edition. £ 20

C. Anne Wilson (Ed) -- Food and Society:Traditional Food East and West of the Pennines Edinburgh University Press 1991 . Fine in publishers cloth in like dustjacket 220pp. 1st edition of collection of 7 papers from the Third Leeds Symposium on Food History. Yorkshire pudding and Grasmere gingerbread are two of the better known aspects of the Pennine region's food history, but the Northern English counties of Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria have distinctive food traditions and recipes. Using traditional recipes where appropriate, this volume explores some of the social and geographical reasons behind the Pennines varied and localized food history. Chapters cover the early food traditions of Lakeland, recent traditional food in Lancashire, the influence of 18th century cookery on a North Yorkshire 19th century village, and a detailed history of the Yorkshire pudding. An account of the reactions of early travellers to the regional dishes, and the role of provincial Northern recipe book publishers combine to build a picture of the region's diet and social history. £ 15