RARE.2024.0063: Purchased, 2024 June
[identification of item], Handwritten Cookbook Belonging to Martha C. Alley of the Rockland, Maine Area, SPEC.RARE.MMS.0391, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.
Processed by: Allison McPherson, 2024 September; Finding Aid Written by: Allison McPherson, 2024 September
Cookbooks are collections of recipes and information about the preparation of ingredients for specific dishes. Recipes date back to the Yale Tablets written in 1700 BC from ancient Mesopotamia for a meat stew. The first English cookbooks were intended for use only by the nobility until literacy became more common among the public in the 17th century. Availability of access to printed materials with the invention of the printing press and increased mass printing allowed cookbooks to become available to the public. Eliza Acton created Modern Cookery for Private Families which was the first cookbook aimed at home cooks and was the first time a cookbook included instructions for the ingredients and quantities required for each recipe.
Martha C. Alley was a resident of the Rockland, Maine area from birth in 1887 until death in 1965. During this time, Alley was known to reside in South Thomaston and Thomaston, and worked in Rockland. All three cities are located on the coast of Maine along the West Penobscot Bay. Rockland, Maine was known for lobster fishing boats, by the 1920s this city shipped more lobster by rail than any other in the United States. Alley’s husband was a lobster fisherman and the cookbook includes recipes for lobster and other native fish such as cod, salmon, and clams. Additional native Maine ingredients are seen throughout the cookbook including corn, blueberries, and walnuts.
The Handwritten Cookbook Belonging to Martha C. Alley of the Rockland, Maine area contains a collection of recipes ranging from savory dishes to sweet, with no distinguished order or categorization. Within the collection there are recipes using local ingredients including “Johnnycake,” “Lobster Salad,” and “Codfish balls.” There are also recipes for “Hogs Head Cheese,” “Brown Betty Pudding,” and “East India Curry,” which are not recipes considered native to the coastal Maine region.
Every page of the cookbook includes handwritten recipes, with no blank notebook pages. There are also multiple printed recipes adhered to the notebook pages and to the inside front and back cover of the cookbook. In between the front cover and the first notebook page were 88 loose clippings including newspaper clippings, handwritten recipes on the back of a Perry’s Laundry receipt and a rent check, a Carnation evaporated milk can label recipe for “Juicy Meat Balls," and an empty matchbook with an advertisement for Hunt’s “Dutch Meat Loaf." The 88 loose clippings that were originally located between the front cover and the first notebook page have been housed by the archivist in a separate folder for ease of access when using the materials. This cookbook dates from 1949-1958.