Hadkinson, Mary Ann

[CULINARY MANUSCRIPT] Mary Ann Hadkinson's 1842

Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchestser, England: 1842-1890. Hardcover. Unpaginated. [96 pp.] 20 x 17 cm. A handwritten culinary manuscript composed in dos-à-dos format. Paper watermarked with a large crown on shield with seated figure. One side begins with two opening pages of meticulously written accounts, resembling ledger entries. Examples include: “Paid carpenter for Coffin to McHutchins,” and “For Cash to Annetta – 12 packs of Cards, 12 Pair Clogs, 3 Pair Slippers,” among similar listings.

The remainder of the volume is devoted entirely to culinary recipes and household remedies. Several recipes are attributed to named individuals—many of the wine preparations (12 pages) to a Philip Owen, and one to James Owen, Esquire. Other attributions include a “Fig Pudding” from D. Heming and a “Mushroom Catsup” from “North Nal Cook.”

Laid in: Chambers’s Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art (July 14, 1883), containing an article titled “Scarlet Fever: How to Limit Its Spread.” Also included are various handwritten or pinned-in recipes and remedies.

Among the recipes noted: To Make Raisin Wine, To Make Orange Wine, To Make Elderflower Wine, To Make Green Gooseberry Wine, Elderberry Wine, Milk Punch, Currant Wine, Ginger Beer, Lobster Salad, Red Currant Jelly, White Catsup, Walnut Catsup, A Nottingham Pudding, Cherry Marmalade, and more. Additional household instructions include preparations for Camphor Soap, Rheumatism Cure, For Burns, Very Good Wash Balls, To Clean (Ivory) Knife Handles, and Varnish for Paintings.

Written in at least seven distinct hands. Dos-à-dos format with the author’s signature present on both sides. Hand-sewn cloth wrapper over boards, with several sections now loose or unbound. Homemade calico cloth stitched binding over half leather. Fair. Item #4781

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