[Sca-cooks] okay you have $7500.00 usd to build a library

[Johnna Holloway]

There are numerous bibliographies and guides.
Actually already online is Thomas Gloning's at
http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/kobu.htm 

The problem is coming
up with the one that fits what is needed for the task or matching the 
guide to
the person or the question. Often it's not a question of a guide or 
bibliography,
it's the matching and that often takes the personal touch of the expert food
historian or librarian. How many people can turn to a shelf and pull the 
right book
off and answer the question? What is that skill worth and should be it 
recognized?
Should it be encouraged or should it be taken for granted?

Obviously you can take a sum of money like $7500 and go for a unique item
like a set of confectionary literature or an early cookbook.
Swann Galleries in New York did a sale in April on gastronomy.

Lot 179 ATHENAEUS. Dipnosophistarum sive coenae sapientum libri XV. 
1556  was expected to
sell for $800-$1200 and sold for    $1600       plus commission.

Lot 212 DIGBY, KENELM, Sir. The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir 
Kenelme Digby Kt. Opened. 1677
was expected to sell for $800-$1200 and sold for   $1500. 

Lot 248 LAMB, PATRICK. Royal Cookery; or, the Complete Court-Cook. 1710  
was expected to sell for $4000-$6000
and sold for    $16000 plus commission.

Lot 266 MOFFETT, THOMAS. Healths Improvement. 1655 was listed at 
$1500-$2500 and sold for only $2400.

I bid on these sorts of things rather infrequently. (But yes I can 
remember bidding on volumes out
of James Beard's library when they sold it off in the 1980's! yes 
bibliomania....)
What I bid on this time (within the expected range of the catalogue) 
went for 10 times more or over $7000
plus commission which means that the second Jarrin I wanted was maybe 
worth $3000 plus.
But on the other hand it means the Jarrin I own is worth probably 3 
times more than I paid for it.
And one of these days when the child is through college, it means that 
mom is going to take
her farm money and actually win something at one of these auctions.

Johnnae



emilio szabo wrote:
> The third part: hm, no, I think I won't propose a third part. There are many bibliographies around, most of them online. If anything, one might think of an online guide to the bibliographical tools in cookery bibliography. (Perhaps, such a tool already exists somewhere.)
>
> Spending money is easy. Spending money in a reasonable way is not an easy thing, however.
>
> E.
>
>
>