[COMMONPLACE BOOK] Homemade Remedies and Recipes Reference Book

Philadelphia: c. 1870s-1880s. Sewn binding. 88 pages. 12 x 8 cm. This beautifully curated commonplace book could be seen as a personal work of art. It features a thoughtful blend of personal recipes and home remedies, alongside printed advertisements and ephemeral materials, all carefully pinned in by its unidentified creator. The advertisements reflect Philadelphia’s local businesses, offering glimpses of goods such as opera glasses, gold spectacles, ostrich plumes, and lace neckwear. Entries reveal that the compiler attended the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, recording observations of exhibits such as the Century Clock in the Kansas and Colorado Building and the oldest known piano dating to 1745. The presence of detailed meal lists suggests she may have hosted boarders.

Among the remedies documented are Grandma’s Vinegar Liniment, treatments for corns and rheumatism, buttermilk as a mildew remover for muslin, methods for preserving cider, and recipes for cleaning kid gloves and polishing furniture. Food recipes include catsup, ginger cake, cornbread, doughnuts, molasses cake, clam chowder, chow-chow, and beef pickle, among others.

Although it lacks its original covers, the sewn, densely layered pages offer a richly textured portrayal of everyday domestic life for a middle-class woman in rapidly growing nineteenth-century Philadelphia. In protective mylar cover. Item #4748

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