[GRIMOD DE LA REYNIÈRE, Alexandre Balthazar]. A Host’s Handb - Lot 58

[GRIMOD DE LA REYNIÈRE, Alexandre Balthazar]. A Host’s Handbook, containing a treatise on the preparation of meats at the table, a list of the latest menus for each season, and the basics of gourmet etiquette. First edition of this gastronomy manual intended to educate the new bourgeoisie in the art of fine dining. Paris, Capelle & Renand, 1808. In-8, fawn half-basane with vellum corners, smooth spine richly decorated with fleurons and gold stucco. 356 pp., one frontispiece, and 16 plates. Binding rubbed along the edges and covers, cap bands missing, small tear at the lower joint, scattered foxing, mainly on the edges. A sought-after first edition of the finest work by Grimod de La Reynière, the founder of gourmet literature, in which he develops a “theory of fine dining” (p. 5). The first part is devoted to the art of carving meat and fish. It is illustrated with 16 plates drawn and engraved by Jean-François Tourcaty. The second part deals with menus, and the final part contains the “Éléments de politesse gourmande,” a code of etiquette addressed to social upstarts who rose to prominence during the Revolution. [In French in the text, no. 217]. A fine copy in a contemporary binding.