ANON.       A label for an expensive Paris sweet shop. circa 1820.
A LA SOURCE DES DOUCEURS.
POMEREL. G.dre de M. CHEVET. CONFISEUR DISTILLATEUR. de S.A.R. Madame la Duchesse de Berry, Fabrique Dragees et Fruits pour Baptemes, Bonbons, assiettes mentees Corbeilles et Cartonnage pour Fetes et Etrennes; Chocolat de Sante et a la Vanille, Confitures de toutes especes; Pate d' Auvergne; Gelee de Pommes de Rouen; Sirops; Fruits a la Eau-de-vie; Liqueu et Nins de Liqueurs;Envoie en Province et a l'Etranger. a' Paris. RUE MONTESQUIEU, No 5.
160 mm in Dia. Top half is an illustration of children finding many sweets at the bottom of a waterfall. With a picnic table set up a maid for a lady of means. A very beautiful black and white, ornately designed label for a company/shop selling many different sweets. Housed in a marbled card folder.
- By the quality of the illustration on this label it must have been a high-end establishment. A long search online did not enlighten. A unique item. (If anyone can shed any more light on this item, it would be much appreciated).

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11313

Anon.       - A rare dinner invitation to the Crown & Anchor Tavern, and the Duke's signature.
77th Anniversary Dinner for the Cumberland Society
ITEM 1. FRIDAY 1ST, MAY, 1812, His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland in the Chair. Stewards. H.R.H. Prince Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. The Rt, Mounsey Esqr. Tho. Monkhouse Esqr. Josh. Lowden Esqr. Heny. Oliphant Esqr. Isaac Armstrong Esqr. Stephen Morton Esqr. Wm. Sanderson Esqr. Tho. Mounsey Esq. John Carruthers Esqr. Dinner on Table at 5 o' Clock precisely. Tickets 15/s Each. No. (With an engraving of ULLSWATER from GABBAROW PARK) ITEM 2. The signature of 'Ernest' H.R.H The Duke of Cumberland, cut from the end of an autographed letter. ITEM 3. An original envelope addressed by the King (the Duke of Cumberland became the King of Hanover in 1837) to 'His Grace The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos', signed 'Ernest' on the lower left. Also annotated: King of Hanover, July 28th 1843. The envelope also has the King's black wax seal.
205x156mm. One light cardboard sheet beautifully inscribed with a lovely engraving of Ullswater by Silvester sc. Very lightly age browned but overall in very nice condition. With a manuscript ink inscription price for £10.10.0 at the top right hand corner. Blank on the verso except for an ink inscription; W. Warrington.
- The Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand was a well-known London landmark, as well as being a dining room of repute. The Tavern after it was rebuilt in 1790 had a large meeting/function room that could seat up to two thousand or more. The famous cooks, F. Collingwood and J. Woolams (images 3&4 below), authors of the cookery book 'The Universal Cook' were serving their tenure there at the time of this Cumberland Society dinner. The Tavern had two entrances, one on the Strand and the other on Arundel St. It is referred to in Stow's 'Survey of London and Westminster' of 1720 as boasting associations with Johnson, Boswell and Reynolds. The meeting hall at the Tavern was long associated with radical politics. Sympathisers of the French Revolution gathered there in the 1790s to commemorate the storming of the Bastille. Used as well as headquarters for Francis Burdett and other ardent reformers. It is also recorded that in the year 1799 the Tavern was the No.1 Grand Master’s Lodge, in the correct list of all the Lodges in London of the most ancient and honourable fraternity of free and accepted Masons of England. His Royal Highness Ernest Augustus, The Duke of Cumberland, who presided over this grand 77th Anniversary Dinner of the Cumberland Society was born on 5th June, 1771 and was by birth the 5th, but in survivor-ship the 2nd son of King George 111 and Queen Charlotte. He became King of Hanover on the death of his elder brother, King William the 1V, in 1837. He died in 1851. The Cumberland Society was formed by his Grandfather the Duke of Cumberland. (1721-65) In 1775 his son also the Duke of Cumberland & Strathearn founded the Cumberland Society Fleet for racing on the Thames. This was the precursor to the Royal Thames Yacht Club, formed in 1830 under the patronage King William IV. It is the oldest continually operating yacht club in the UK today. The present Duke whose dinner invitation is on view here, was carrying on the business of a venerable tradition that was the Cumberland Society. Three pertinent rare ephemeral items that have lasted well.

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11053

ANON.       - A rare dinner invitation to the London Tavern, Bishopsgate St. 1857.
LINEN DRAPERS SILK MERCHANTS
LACEMENS' HABERDASHERS' AND HOSIERS' INSTITUTION. THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY DINNER, AT THE London Tavern, Bishopsgate Street, on Tuesday, February 24th, 1857. SIR JOHN VILLIERS SHELLEY, BART., M.P., IN THE CHAIR. STEWARDS: Mr. FREDRK. ARMFIELD - Mr. JOHN ALLAN - Mr. JOHN FIVEASH - Mr. JOHN GEB - Mr. JOHN JARVIS - Mr. ROBERT MINTON - Mr. OSBORN - Mr. THOS. RUSSELL - Mr. W. RUTTY - Mr. J. RABBIDGE - Mr. JAMES ROBBINS - Mr. JOHN SCOTT - Mr. G.F. WALLIS. The Musical Arrangements under the management of Mr. Lawler, assisted by Miss Poole, Miss B. Palmer, and others. This Ticket will admit Mr. ------------ Dinner on Table at Six o'Clock, exact time. --TICKETS, including Wine, ONe Guinea. NO. 435. GEORGE BRACE, Secretary, 24, Surry Street, Strand. Tickets not returned to the secretary on or before the 20th of February, to be paid for.
115x150mm. Cream coloured card with black, red and green coloured text. Nice clean condition.
- Bishopsgate Street was anciently divided into Bishopsgate Street Within (i.e. within the walls of London) and Bishopsgate Street Without, and derives its name after one of the original seven gates in London Wall. The foundation of the original gate is attributed to Erkenwald, elected Bishop of London in 675. Henry III granted the gate (which would have contained buildings above and beside it) to the Hanse merchants, who substantially rebuilt the gate in 1479: the gate was adorned with statues of past bishops of London. It was declared an obstruction to traffic in the eighteenth century and subsequently demolished. Bishopsgate Street Within contained three churches, St Martin Outreach, St Ethelburga, and St Helen, and the famous Crosby Hall as well as the London Tavern, used for many public meetings, banquets and dinners. Bishopsgate Street Without was wider and longer than Within, and during medieval times many pleasure gardens and bowling alleys ran off it. Throughout most of its history Bishopsgate Street has been one of the City's main commercial streets, and has housed many fine mansions of the nobility, of whom many were entertained by the plays performed at the Bull Inn, a famous playhouse of Elizabethan times. Afterward they would have dined at the nearby London Tavern, one of the best known and most prestigious city venues. See print #2 below for an image of a small salon inside the London Tavern.

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11105

Bocuse.   Paul     - Signed on the back by Bocuse.
Black and white photograph of Bocuse.
In a black frame with a wide white border.
Frame size 24" x 20". Actual photograph size 16" x 10.5". Unfortunately signed illegibly in pencil by the photographer on the bottom left hand corner. With a very decorative greeting card tipped in to the back of the frame. The card has a small coloured illustration of Bocuse's Restaurant at the top with a dedication written in felt tip; "Avec nos meilleurs salutations Paul Bocuse".
- An unusual item in that it shows the great chef, Paul Bocuse, in the kitchen of his restaurant “Auberge du Pont de Collonges” situated four kilometers north of Lyon on the banks of the Saône near the Pont de Collonges. He is standing at the butchers block about to carve up a raw chicken, but distracted for a moment by barking out some instructions. A chef will recognise this as a very typical vignette of a Chef/Patron in the middle of a busy service in a hot frantic kitchen during meal times. Most photographs of Bocuse usually show him standing but relaxed, dressed in crisp whites with arms folded, in an elegant restaurant dining room. Bocuse was at the forefront of the much misunderstood and abused "Nouvelle Cuisine" movement of the early 1970's. It had a huge impact on the methods of cooking and serving food in fine Restaurants. It very rightly endeavored to break away from the heavy, overly rich classical cooking that was a legacy of the war years and after and with the subsequent rationing that followed till the 1950's. Quite wrongly, Escoffier's name was used to brand the old style of cooking in reaction to the lightness and freshness demanded on the day. This was erroneous as anyone can see, should they read the preface of Escoffier's great cookery classic 'Le Guide Culinaire'. Therein, Escoffier demands fresh ingredients, reductions and light sauces compared the the heavily produced dishes of the classical Bel Epogue era before the wars. Bocuse and others of the Nouvelle Cuisine movement eventually changed cooking quite dramatically. Interestingly, Escoffier has now had a revival in appreciation, and is being once again understood for the great Master that he was. Ironically the term 'Nouvelle Cuisine' was also used to describe the new ways and dishes that Escoffier was writing about in 1903 after the publication of his first book. This photograph of Bocuse is a very scarce unique item especially with the yellow card bearing his signature .

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11184

David.   Elizabeth     - A rare collection of E.D. signed ephemera.
TWENTY-FIVE ITEMS; BOOKS, BOOKLETS, CATALOGUES AND MAGAZINES.
9 BOOKLETS - 1. Green Pepper Berries (very rare). 2. English Potted Meats & Fish Pastes. 3. Syllabubs & Fruit Fools. 4. The Baking of an English Loaf. 5. Dried Herbs, Aromatics & Condiments. 6. The Use of Wine in Italian Cooking. 7. Entertaining with Grand Marnier. 8. 1st Edition 1963. 16 pages. 'Cooking with Le Creuset' (very rare). 9. Later & enlarged edition. Ring bound 38 pages. Cooking with Le Creuset. 1. BOOK. Classic Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Julie Sahni. 621 pages. With a letter from the publisher, Maria Guarnaschelli of William Morrow & Co. of New York. Asking E.D. to read the book and give her opinion. E.D. numbered the pages and wrote the 24 substantial points of critique on the back of the letter in ink. E.D. must have typed out her critical points and sent them to Maria Guarnaschelli. The points were sent Julie Sahni who responded back to E.D. as there is a further typed reply from E.D. (not signed). It also appears in the reply that E.D. appreciated and rated Sahni's book very highly. 1. AUCTION CATALOGUE. To be sold by Auction at Phillips of Bayswater on Tuesday, February 22nd, 1994 at 12 noon. This was a very well attended sell-off of E.D's house contents after her death in 1992. 1. Beautifully designed 4 page thick paper E.D. Memorial Service booklet. The front and back covers are a reprint of John Minton's dust wrapper for French Country Cooking. With the full service schedule and list of appreciations. 2. E.D. SHOP CATALOGUES. 1967-8. 1 finished equipment catalogue of 20 Pages. 2. E.D's working catalogue copy with all the extensive notations and changes in her hand. (very rare) 4. E.D. SHOP CATALOGUES & ONE ENVELOPE. 1. Kitchen Utensils. Price List 1968-9. E.D's own copy with all the new prices stuck on. 2. Summer Cooking 1968: A large A3 glossy catalogue folded into 8 pages of Kitchen Utensils and Prices. 3. Another glossy working catalogue of 20 pages of equipment and prices. Some pages empty. 4. In a brown envelope addressed to the shop form the Printer. A note in green ink in E.D's own hand informing its E.D's own copy. 1. WINE & FOOD MAGAZINE. February/March 1969. (E.D's Members copy.) With a 4 page article by E.D. specifically with recipes for Lemons. A further 2 page article about Kitchen knives that were sold in E. D's shop at 46 Bourne St. London S.W.1. An interesting read. 1. SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE. October 31st 1965. A 2 page article about E.D's shop opening the next day on November 1st. There is also a large 2 page photograph of E.D's kitchen in her house. 1. LARGE FORMAT 1st DRAFT WORKING COPY. Of equipment lists with annotations in E.D's hand. 9 BOOKLETS - 1. Green Pepper Berries (very rare). 2. English Potted Meats & Fish Pastes. 3. Syllabubs & Fruit Fools. 4. The Baking of an English Loaf. 5. Dried Herbs, Aromatics & Condiments. 6. The Use of Wine in Italian Cooking. 7. Entertaining with Grand Marnier. 8. 1st Edition 1963. 16 pages. Cooking with Le Creuset. (very rare). 9. Later & enlarged edition. Ring bound 38 pages. Cooking with Le Creuset. 1. BOOK. Classic Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Julie Sahni. 621 pages. With a letter from the publisher, Maria Guarnaschelli of William Morrow & Co. of New York. Asking E.D. to read the book and give her opinion. E.D. numbered the pages and wrote the 24 substantial points of critique on the back of the letter in ink. E.D. must have typed out her critical points and sent them to Maria Guarnaschelli. The points were sent Julie Sahni who responded back to E.D. as there is a further typed reply from E.D. (not signed). It also appears in the reply that E.D. appreciated and rated Sahni's book very highly. 1. AUCTION CATALOGUE. To be sold by Auction at Phillips of Bayswater on Tuesday, February 22nd, 1994 at 12 noon. This was a very well attended sell-off of E.D's house contents after her death in 1992. 1. Beautifully designed 4 page thick paper E.D. Memorial Service booklet. The front and back covers are a reprint of John Minton's dust wrapper for French Country Cooking. With the full service schedule and list of appreciations. 2. E.D. SHOP CATALOGUES. 1967-8. 1 finished equipment catalogue of 20 Pages. 2. E.D's working catalogue copy with all the extensive notations and changes in her hand. (very rare) 4. E.D. SHOP CATALOGUES & ONE ENVELOPE. 1. Kitchen Utensils. Price List 1968-9. E.D's own copy with all the new prices stuck on. 2. Summer Cooking 1968: A large A3 glossy catalogue folded into 8 pages of Kitchen Utensils and Prices. 3. Another glossy working catalogue of 20 pages of equipment and prices. Some pages empty. 4. In a brown envelope addressed to the shop from the Printer. A note in green ink in E.D's own hand informing its E.D's own copy. 1. WINE & FOOD MAGAZINE. February/March 1969. (E.D's Members copy.) With a 4 page article by E.D. specifically with recipes for Lemons. A further 2 page article about Kitchen knives that were sold in E. D's shop at 46 Bourne St. London S.W.1. An interesting read. 1. SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE. October 31st 1965. A 2 page article about E.D's shop opening the next day on November 1st. There is also a large 2 page photograph of E.D's kitchen in her house. 1. LARGE FORMAT 1st DRAFT WORKING COPY. Of equipment lists with annotations in E.D's hand.
All the above in fine condition and housed in a specially made box with leather spine, gilt tooling and morocco leather labels.
- Further to Elizabeth David's famous published cookery books, she continued to produce many small specialized recipe booklets, written multi-media articles etc. She also owned a kitchen equipment shop in Pimlico. The items assembled here over many years is a comprehensive collection of all aspects of her phenomenal output besides her books.

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11180

David.   Elizabeth     - A very scarce set.
4 Recipe Booklets.
1. Syllabubs and Fruit Fools. 2. English Potted Meats and Fish Pates. 3. Dried Herbs, Aromatics and Condiments. 4. The Baking of an English Loaf.
All booklets 150x112 mm. #1. A Second edition of 1971. 20p with a blue water stain running thro' all the pages, not too bad. #2. A first edition n/d but copyrighted 1968. 20p and unblemished. #3. A first edition n/d but copyrighted 1969. 20p. A nice copy with a very small stain dot on the front cover. #4. A first edition n/d but copyrighted 1969. 24p. A nice clean copy. Overall four very nice items and very scarce as a full set.
- Elizabeth David CBE (born Elizabeth Gwynne, 26 December 1913 – 22 May 1992) was a British cookery writer who, in the mid-20th century, strongly influenced the revitalisation of the art of home cookery with articles and books about European cuisines and traditional British dishes. Her prose style was at once imperious, informative, passionate and above all evocative. Her books have truly inspired generations to step into the kitchen heat and find that passion for themselves. She wrote in Vogue in 1960 after visiting Cavaillon, in Provence, on market day. "Here you can buy everything for a picnic lunch beautiful sprawling ripe tomatoes, a Banon cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves, Arles sausages, pate, black olives, butter cut from a towering monolith". David opened a kitchen utensil shop with friends (with whom she later, inevitably, fell out) at 64 Bourne St, London SW1, selling the artisan cooking pots and equipment she loved and that everyone else later copied. Its launch in 1965 was headline news. She was responsible for Le Creuset introducing its traditional orange coloured cast-iron pans in blue - inspired by the colour of her Gauloise cigarette packet. These four booklets were published at various dates during the 60's and 70's and sold at Bourne St. The shop continued to trade under her name after she left it in 1973. Also at the same time, working with the food photographer Anthony Denney, she changed the way recipes were presented in magazines. No studio shots of mashed potato masquerading as ice-cream as was the practice then; the photographs are simply of what she had cooked. Her life was remarkable and her legacy astonishing. Her brilliant writing was the outcome of racketing around the Mediterranean, travelling, drinking and eating alone in Italy, and holing herself up in Ross-on-Wye with another man while her husband was in India. By all accounts she could be disagreeable, but that shouldn't put anyone off her books. And now that we know how extraordinarily racy her life was there's even more reason not to forget her.

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11172

ESCOFFIER.   GEORGES AUGUSTE     Very rare.
A signed original photograph.
Escoffier (1846-1935)The famous French chef who popularised and updated traditional French cooking.is seated in a studious three-quarter length pose at a small table upon which appear several books. The chef rests his chin on one hand and holds a pen in the other as he writes on the paper before him. Photograph by Jacquier of Regent Street, London, and bearing their imprint to the lower mount. Signed (?A Escoffier?) in dark fountain pen ink to the lower photographer?s mount and dated London, December 1913 in his hand.
The framed photograph (280 x 220 mm) was evidently originally inscribed by Escoffier to a friend in New York, however the name of the individual has been very neatly erased at one stage and only a few words of the greeting remain legible today. Signed photographs of Escoffier are very desirable. Very slightly neatly trimmed to the lower edge and with some light age wear and minor creasing to the photographer?s mount.
- This is the most famous and used image of Escoffier. It was present as the frontispieces of many editions for his great culinary masterpiece - 'Le Guide Culinaire'.

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11352

Escoffier.   Georges Auguste     - With 2 very scare recipe booklets.
6 ITEMS OF ESCOFFIER RELATED EPHEMERA.
ITEM1. Wholesale Department:- RIDGEMONT STREET. (Off Shore Street) TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD, LONDON, WC. Inside it tells us: ESCOFFIER PREPARATIONS. Manufactured under the Supervision of MONS. ESCOFFIER. of the Carlton Hotel. London. With lists of all Escoffier items and prices. ITEM 2. A canned autobiography of Escoffier from the Foundation Auguste Escoffier. UN DES GRANDS MAITRES DE LA CUISINE FRANCAISE. 1846 - 1935. ITEM 3. A booklet of Escoffier recipes for a GUIDE de la CUISINIERE. Contenant de NOMBREUSES RECETTES NOUVELLES. Edite par le ~Bouillon "KUB". ITEM 4. A booklet of of Escoffier recipes for a A Chaque mois de l'Annee... ses viandes, poissins, volailles•gibiers, legumes. `Conseils et Recettes. La bonne cuisine par tous. ITEM 5. An original b/w photograph of the Carlton Hotel, Pall Mall, London. ITEM 6. A b/w photograph of Escoffier with top-hat viewing exhibits at a Salon Culinaire in London.
ITEM 1. A four-page promotional pamphlet: 237 x 143mm. Ornate front cover with a red jar of Escoffier Pickles. All items priced. Good condition. ITEM 2. 240 x 160mm. (1) With illustration of an older Escoffier. 4-9 The main dated milestones of key times in Escoffier's life. 10-49 with many unseen photographs of Escoffier and his kitchen brigades. Packed with many unknown facts from the Master's life. The covers and internally in fine condition. ITEM 3. 180 x 135mm. p1 Advertisement. Frontis on the Verso of a table laden with foods. A letter written by Escoffier dated Paris, Octobre 1922. p6. Termes Culinaires. 7-71. [1] Age dusted carboard covers and the front cover with text in red and ornate border. Internally clean. ITEM 4. 180 x 138mm. A rectangular booklet. Inside cover advertising 'Kub' Buillon. A title page of a letter date July 1st 1925. [1] p3. Du choix des plats de season. 1926. 4-31. Inside cover advertising 'Kub' et Poule au Pot'. `Dark blue cardboard covers with a little boy chef on the front. Fine condition. ITEM 5. A b/w photograph of Escoffier of the Carlton Hotel when Escoffier was the Chef de Cuisine. ITEM 6. A fine b/w photographs of Escoffier at a Salon Culinaire pasted to the insider page of the marbled cardboard folder housing all the items.
- Escoffier, (1846-1935) was not only a great and famous chef, but a little known fact was that he was also a relentless innovator, as can be seen by the large range of sauces, soups, pickles, consomme, vinegars etc (even the famous Sauce Melba) featured in the 4 page pamphlet of Escoffier Sauces. This came about because of his laudable belief that making life and kitchen tasks easier for the professional and the home cooks was an inevitable need and necessity, which he understood and very clearly stated in his great cookery classic 'Le Guide Culinaire'. Reading the preface of this great book we can see the practical, as well as his heartfelt understanding of people's constant desire for change was an ongoing negative human condition thro' the ages. Escoffier tried to explain that the secret to alleviating this restless innovation, will come about by cooking the timeless classics as well as possible, instead of the constant search for novelty. Probably the most lasting but least known food item that he developed and started producing on a large commercial scale, was tinned tomatoes. The other two rare booklets also pre-date a very modern trend of promoting processed food items aimed at the home cook. The autobiographical booklet is fascinating as a condensed look at Escoffier's life put together by the Escoffier foundation at 3, rue Auguste Escoffier. 06270 Villeneuve-Loubet Village and it's Chairman, Michel Escoffier, the great man's grandson. An unusual collection.

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11317

Escoffier.   Georges Auguste     Uniquely rare.
Menus and recipes signed by Escoffier.
Two menus with recipes signed and annotated with one page also initialized by Escoffier and a single recipe from the Guide Culinaire in Escoffier's typical messy hand writing. Also one page of unusual Ephemera signed twice.
Comprising: 4 different items protected in separate plastic sleeves. All housed in a marbled folder with label. -- ITEM 1. 1page. 222 x 153mm. n.d. Recipe for ‘Boeuf en Miroton’, [circa.1903] written in Escoffier’s distinctive handwriting. Comprising 18 lines outlining the recipe with a comment beneath (‘J’avais oublié ce bon Miroton’), with other annotations in pencil, and blue crayon in another hand. The page appears to be extracted from a notebook. (The recipe for Boeuf en Miroton appeared in Escoffier’s Le Guide Culinaire, 1st edition of 1903). Enclosed with one page of English translation. Very good condition. -- ITEM 2. 2 pages. 265 x 207mm. Stapled. nd. Small tear to top left corner of second page; A typed menu in very clear blue ink on well preserved thin yellow paper, initialled by Escoffier on page 1, and signed by him on page 2. The first page is a “Homage à BRILLAT SAVARIN; En souvenir des Diners de la Gentilhommière de Vieu”. The first page explaining the inspiration behind the menu; Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin and his cousin, Juliette Récamier. The second page giving an extravagant 9 course menu, commencing with Hors d’oeuvres, Caviar and Huîtres crûes en Gelée de Champagne. Enclosed with 2 pages of English translation. Very good condition. -- ITEM 3. 5 pages, 268 x 209mm. Stapled. nd. A typed menu and recipes in very clear black ink on well preserved thin white paper. Annotated and signed by Escoffier on page 5. A six course delightful dinner titled “LA PROVENCE; LES DELICES DE LA COTE D’AZUR; Pays des Rêyes dorés”. Given for ‘un personnage de nationalité anglaise’. The dishes including Melon de Cavaillon au Frontignan, Mignonettes d'Agneau de lait Mireille, and la Mousse Abricot de Rose de Monteux. Followed by all the recipes for the dishes. Enclosed with 5 pages of English translation. Very good condition. -- ITEM 4. 1 page of ephemera. 190x 125mm. An invoice or stock note headed: Aktiebolaget Svenska Handelsbanken, Stockholm, on blue paper, interestingly, signed twice by Escoffier. With his home address in Monte-Carlo. Dated 9th January 1933. Very good condition.
- Escoffier's very full life and literary output is well documented. His Hotel collaborations with Cesar Ritz, his restaurants on board famous ocean liners, his 'Escoffier Company' range of preserved and bottled foodstuffs, his colleagues and apprentices who became famous in their own right. The associations and foundations that sprang up in his memory after he died, attest to the deep affection and respect in which he was held. These enclosed items serve up a fine glimpse of the loving and detailed effort he put into these two private functions. It also helps to show why he was held in the highest regard. -- ITEM 1: Written in Escoffier’s hand but with no date. Obviously, it’s a page from a notebook, and as it is not dated, one may assume it was written before the first publication of the recipe in his ‘Guide Culinaire’ of 1903. Otherwise why would Escoffier re-write it when it is already published. A mystery.! -- ITEM 2: Escoffier informs us that this dinner took place in the lounge of the Table Francaise of the Restaurant Garnier on rue de l,Isly. He further states that being the President of the Society of the Table Francaise, whose headquarters were also on rue de l,Isly, he Escoffier, was asked to compose the menu. -- ITEM 3. A lunch served for an unnamed English gentleman in a private villa between Cannes and Monte-Carlo. Escoffier describes the setting for the lunch in quite descriptive and poetic terms. One can almost feel the warm winter sunshine and smell the Mimosa etc. To have a menu created by the Master with accompanying recipes, is rare. -- ITEM 4. This little invoice is a mystery. Dated 23 months before his death, one wonders where Escoffier signed for this. Surely not Stockholm but a branch of Aktiebolaget Svenska Handelsbanken near the Monte-Carlo or further afield in France perhaps.? A search of the bank’s history did not enlighten. It also appears that Escoffier signed and dated the invoice in the first instance, then signed it a second time as a complimentary gift to someone. Rare indeed with the two signatures. --- Due to Escoffier’s output as a prolific writer, signed letters are very scarce but not rare, but still fetching large amounts of money at auction. However, we can elevate to extreme rarity these signed menus with fine detailed recipes and descriptions, of the two private functions organised and recorded by the great man himself.

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11249

Escoffier.   Georges Auguste     - Extremely Rare.
An original b/w photograph of Auguste Escoffier.
SITTING WITH HIS FULL KITCHEN BRIGADE. 1905.
320 mm long x 153 mm high. Under the photograph is a small cut out of the original mount, stating; The Carlton Hotel. 1905. The photograph is mounted on a black cardboard border and covered by glass and bordered with a black and silver frame. One of his most famous pupils; Charles Scotto, sits in the photograph fourth from the left on the second row. Pasted on the back is the original photographer’s name in gilt, cut from the mount before it was framed. It was by Fradelle & Young, 283 Regents St. London W.1. They specialised in hotel and restaurant group photography of dinners, receptions & full kitchen brigades. ITEM 2. See image # 5. below. For reference; I requested a scan done by the framers of the original large photograph used. It shows in full a large ugly part of the Carlton Hotel roof, which was cut out before framing.
- This rare original photograph of Auguste Escoffier and his kitchen brigade, was taken on the roof of the Carlton Hotel 1905. A casual glance at this old image belies the contemporary history that Escoffier brought about by very hard work, his great extensive writings, his organisational skills, and a huge passion to improve the lot of his beloved chefs. It is one of the reasons why he is held in such high esteem, and a feeling of deep gratitude lies in the hearts of most well trained modern chefs, because his updated re-organisation of the large Kitchen brigade is still the way modern kitchens are organised. The following list is of the different members and departments of his large kitchen brigade system. Only the largest of hotels like the Carlton Hotel had this fully staffed brigade (54 people in this photograph) with all the following departments fully functioning. Escoffier devised this system, primarily during his time at the Savoy Hotel London, before going to the Carlton from 1899 to 1919. This very efficient organisation allowed sincere chefs to learn all the important skills of every department in the largest kitchen brigades. Staring at the top was the MAITRE-CHEF de CUISINE (literally translated; "Master Chef") Responsible for overall management of kitchen; supervises staff, creates menus and new recipes with the assistance of the restaurant manager, makes purchases of raw food items, trains apprentices, and maintains a sanitary and hygienic environment for the preparation of food. SOUS-CHEF de CUISINE (deputy head chef; literally "sub-chief") Receives orders directly from the chef de cuisine for the management of the kitchen, and often serves as the representative when the chef de cuisine is not present. Does not usually work on the stove anymore. In a big brigade there can be as many as 4-6 sous-chefs. CHEF de PARTIE (senior chef of a department) Responsible for managing a department in the kitchen, specializing in preparing particular dishes there. CHEF TOURNANT (Can be a Chef de partie in any department) The most experienced, having trained as a Chef de partie in every department. Will cover for any Chef de partie on their days off or holidays. Usually fills any vacancy for the Sous-chef’s position. CHEF SAUCIER (Chef de partie of the sauce dept.) Prepares all meat sauces and stocks and completes meat dishes. This is one of the most respected positions in the kitchen brigade. CHEF ROTTISEUR (Chef de partie of the roast department.) Manages a team of cooks that roasts, broils, and deep fries dishes. CHEF POISSONNIER (Chef de partie of the fish department.) Prepares all fish and seafood dishes and fish sauces and stocks. Usually has a fishmonger in the department. CHEF ENTREMETIER (Chef de partie of vegetable and farinaceous department.) Prepares all vegetables, soups and egg dishes. CHEF GARDE-MANAGER (Chef de partie of the cold larder.) Responsible for preparation of cold hors d'oeuvres, pâtés, terrines and aspics; prepares salads; organizes large buffet displays; and prepares charcuterie items. Usually the largest staffed department in the kitchen. CHEF PATTISIER (Chef de partie of pastry department.) Prepares desserts and other meal-end sweets, ices, cakes, petit-fours, pulled sugar works, also has a ‘boulanger’, preparing breads and other baked items; may also prepare pasta for the restaurant. BOUCHER (the butcher) Butchers meats, poultry, prepare meats for the Garde manger’s pates and terrines. Clean all game ready for roasting. May also be in charge of breading meats. CUISINIER (cook) May also be referred to as a cuisinier de partie. Also known as a ‘demi-chef de partie’ who takes over from the Chef de partie on his days off. COMMIS (junior cook) Works in a specific partie, but reports directly to the chef de partie. Can also be 2nd or 3rd commis depending on age and experience. The Chef de cuisine changes their departments annually to give them all round experience of all ‘parties’. APPRENTIE (apprentice.) Often students gaining theoretical and practical training, in school and work experience in the kitchen. They perform preparatory work under a Chef de Partie. PLONGEUR or MARMITON (dishwasher or kitchen porter.) cleans dishes and utensils, and may be entrusted with basic preparatory jobs. ABOYEUR (announcer/expediter) During the meal service times takes the orders from the dining room waiters and distributes them to the various departments; the role usually performed by the Sous-chef. CHEF COMMUNARD Prepares the meal served to the restaurant staff. GARCON de CUISINE (literally ‘kitchen boy’) In larger establishments, performs preparatory and auxiliary work for support. This photograph gives an insight into how many chefs are employed in the large well known luxury hotels. The range of skills that have to be mastered is huge. A commis chef's apprenticeship usually lasted up to 7 years. Even after that, a lot of chefs move to other well known establishments to gain more experience. Indeed a great chef's career path is always dictated by quality and reputation. Because the initial years as an apprentice is so tough and very focused on improving skills, they never lose the desire to learn. As a foot note and interestingly, in all photographs I have viewed of Escoffier sitting with his full kitchen brigades, (and they were done annually) He always sat sideways to the direct camera angle. Curious.!

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Ephemera category
ref number: 11230