Ellen Lyon recipe and commonplace book : manuscript.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Author/Creator:

Lyon, Ellen, active 1809-1831, compiler.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cooking, English.

Medicine--Formulae, receipts, prescriptions.

Medicine.

Genre:

codices (bound manuscripts)

commonplace books.

Cookbooks.

Recipes.

Manuscripts, English -- 19th century.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by Alastor Rare Books (East Cowes, England), 2026.

Physical Description:

1 volume (132 pages) ; 24 x 19 cm + 8 leaves

Production:

Prestwich, Greater Manchester, England, 1809-1831.

Summary:

This recipe and commonplace book contains commonplace entries and household, medicinal, and culinary recipes written and compiled by Ellen Lyon in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, England between 1809 and 1813. The volume is bound in quarter leather with marbled paper boards. There is significant damage to the binding. Most of the volume’s pages are blank (p. 16-110, 112-124). There are several items laid in to the volume, including a scrap of silk taffeta fabric (p. 2-3), cut paper silhouettes (p. 32-33), and loose leaves and letters with recipes and other notes (p. 94-95). There is also the impression of a pressed flower, though the flower itself is not present (p. 36-37), and a pencil sketch of a flower (p. 111). The volume opens with commonplace entries including Lyon’s brief impression of Stand Hall in Whitefield, Greater Manchester, England with what appears to be a quotation, possibly from Elizabeth Isabella Spence’s Summer Excursions, describing the location (p. 1-2); the epitaph of Mrs. Barnett by Jesse Wilton of Prestwich (p. 3); and a 32-stanza ballad (p. 5-13). This volume contains 16 household and medicinal recipes written by Lyon and an additional 18 culinary recipes written on loose sheets laid in (p. 94-95). The recipes written by Lyon include treatment of cholera morbus, Mrs. Bradshaw, Bent House, 1831 (p. 125); to stain wood in imitation of rose wood (p. 129-129); to preserve pencil drawings (p. 130); and to prepare the beautiful color called Naples yellow (p. 132). The culinary recipe laid in to the volume include Jerusalem artichokes, a fashionable dish; rabbit soup, Kings College, Cambridge; an alderman’s pudding; and Maltese cream. Other items laid in include a scrap of religious writing, letters to Reverend Corsen of Strand with information about Samuel Rowlands, and what appears to be a reading list or bibliography.

Notes:

Title supplied by cataloger.

Cited as:

Ellen Lyon Recipe and Commonplace Book (Ms. Codex 2372). Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

OCLC:

1597424390

Access Restriction:

Access to this item is subject to staff review.