Would this be considered a first edition or not? TIA

Hi all
I need some help from the folks here who know books.

Would this be a first edition or no? Thanks for any help.
Will check back in the morning.

 

And the name of the book is?

 

it would seem to be.......

 

by Julia Child...........sooooo cooking ?

 

You're pretty good at reading faint backwards letters Komokwa!

 

Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a two-volume French cookbook written by American author Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle, both of France. Written for the American market, it was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1961 (Volume 1) and 1970 (Volume 2). Widely credited with bringing French cuisine into the American home, it has since become a standard in the culinary world. Originally, a third volume was planned but Child lost interest in the project as her television career took off and so Simone Beck published separately what would have been the third volume as Simca's Cuisine.

First edition identification and notes


The first edition of the first volume, published in 1961 by Knopf in patterned white boards and a blue and white pictorial jacket states "First edition" on the copyright page. The first of the second volume was not published until 1970 in similarly patterned boards and a dark blue and white jacket, and also states "First Edition" on the copyright page. Both are highly collectible, and as with most cookbooks, copies in nice condition with a jacket are uncommon. Childs' signature adds considerable value to each and in fact even early printings can be quite valuable with the authors' signatures.

 

I loved Julia Child and watched her show many moons ago. One vivid memory I have was of her hacking away at a chicken with a meat cleaver .. she was saying to give it some force in order to get good clean separations .. she looked like an axe murderer as she hacked away. The chicken was sliding all over the place and she suddenly picked it up by a leg and tossed it over her head onto the floor !!! I laughed so hard I was choking. I loved her ever since .. she carried on with another chicken and sliced it with a knife ... ... Joy.

 

Your copy does not state "First edition" on the copyright page.

 

This one on eBay says "First Edition 2nd Printing" and has the same date as yours:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Julia-Chil...562789?hash=item3fc0bd2c65:g:wI8AAOSw4ylcvOg9

 

Books published by Knopf after 1934 should state "First Edition" on the copyright page if they are the first edition, first printing. This appears to be the second printing of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", which does have some value (although not as much as a first printing), depending on its condition.
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22570115000&searchurl=yrh=1961&yrl=1961&pn=Knopf&bi=0&ds=30&bx=off&sortby=17&an=Julia+Child&recentlyadded=all&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp2-_-title16

 

Since it doesn't state it, then maybe it very well could be....AAAAAAND, sniped again!!! This time by @wiscbirddog!!! NICE job!!!! I pulled out Louisette Bertholle's name, then went digging....same results!!

 

Thanks everyone. Yes it is Julia Child, I forgot to say that when I asked. I picked up this copy at a sale the other day. It has some condition issues tho.

I will do more research and follow the links here too. I have found a later edition of this book too recently so I was comparing the pages to see what I have.

I loved Julia Child's show as well Joy.
I can remember watching her show in b/w. She made a mess with an egg dish too, it went all over the place except in the pan. LOL

Thanks all! Much obliged. Bon Appetit!

 

I loved her too, and also watched her in b/w when she lived in Cambridge, Ma and filmed her shows from there.

I still love to watch repeats whenever I catch them.

Her show was the first cooking show I had ever seen, and it turned me into a "cooking show" lover......with Jacques Pepin among them. They filmed many together. He is still cooking!

 

Hi Judy, me too.

I also like Pepin, tho I admit, I have a hard time understanding what he is saying most of the time due to his thick accent. But than I am also hard of hearing.Thank goodness for closed caption tv.

I found a cook book by him recently at a thrift that was signed by him, but left it as I don't want to have to authenticate it. Plus it was in terrible shape.

I love all cooking shows for the most part. Some are too much competition and loud and not much learning. Martha Stewart has a show on PBS that is called Martha Bakes
and while she is not the maven she used to be, the show is well done and fun to watch and I can watch as the magic of baking takes hold. I prefer baking shows over cooking shows for the most part.

 

Hi Pearl!

My sentiments exactly!

I too have some difficulty understanding Jacques, but I love to watch him.

I catch Martha Bakes, and absolutely love PBS's Lydia.......she is such a natural cook......like Jacques.

Cooks Country is also a favorite.

I too will watch cooking shows more often than not.

The competition shows can be entertaining, and there are many talented people out there, but I prefer the cooks on PBS.

I don't like the host (can't think of his name) who screams at everyone, altho I know his show is very popular....I just can't watch him.

 

Yes, I agree with everything you said Judy. I watch all those shows too. The other Jacque who makes desserts and chocolate only had a show for awhile but I don't think he does it anymore. He has a big store in NY and does amazing chocolates. He was pastry chef at a famous hotel here in NY for years before he left.
I also have a hard time understanding him too.

I know who you are talking about.. that guy that screams at everyone. I can not watch it either.

I also love the show Food Fact or Fiction that goes into the history of foods and how they came about. Like famous Black Out Cake. I liked Good Eats too, the original run on Food TV more so than the new rebooted version.

I remember having a Home Ec class in high school for cooking. I loved that class even tho we really didn't learn much. It was basic and fun with tiny kitchenettes. I do remember one dish. It was mac and cheese, but the teacher had a recipe that included tomato soup and that did not appeal to me.

 

I used to watch Good Eats too, have seen the new show maybe once, and did not like it very much.

Home Ec! Where we had to make our apron to wear during the cooking class.

I don't remember learning much of anything in my cooking class either.......

We were plain eaters at home growing up......just the basic good food. We all had to do our share of preparing to help my mother who also worked outside the home at times. My older sister had the responsibility of getting things started before my mother got home. My brother and I had to set the table....and of course, we (the kids) all had to do the dishes and clean-up afterwards......it was never questioned.....it's what we did.

 

Judy, thank goodness we did not have to make our apron, I can not sew at all.

My mother was sick when I was a kid, so there were many times I did the basic cooking so we could have dinner. I also did a lot of the shopping which meant a long walk with a cart bigger than me to get groceries at Waldbaum's. I did not enjoy that at all. It was a lot for a young person to take on. This was in Brooklyn.

My mother did have her signature recipes for holidays, if she was up to doing it.
My brothers hardly helped. They were good at pretending to help. We got a dishwasher at some point which was a huge help.

That is how I got started cooking. But truth be told, I always favored baking.I could get lost in those recipes, in my own world.

Nowadays, I wonder how many kids help out with kitchen tasks like these. Probably a tiny percentage.