Housekeeping In Old Virginia (1965 Reprint of 1879 Classic) - Post-Civil War Southern Cookbook 📜🍽️🇺🇸

This volume is an authenticated 1965 reprint of Housekeeping In Old Virginia, a celebrated culinary and domestic guide originally published in 1879.

Edited by Marion Cabell Tyree, the book is an invaluable artifact of post-Civil War Southern domestic life, compiled from the family recipes of over 250 of Virginia's noted housewives.

This specific edition, published by Favorite Recipes Press, is visually striking and preserves the historical content and social context of the original. This piece is a strong acquisition for any collector of Americana or culinary history seeking a high-quality, readable version of a definitive regional classic.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

The book contains 1,700 heirloom recipes and domestic advice, making it a comprehensive guide to late 19th-century household management. The recipes cover a wide spectrum of Southern cuisine, including Flann Cakes, Pigeon Pie, Souse Cheese, and the earliest known published recipe for sweet iced tea. The volume is organized into detailed sections such as Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate, Oysters and other Shell Fish, Poultry, Pickles and Catsups, and House-cleaning.

Beyond recipes, the book is a social document. It includes sections on Remedies for the Sick and Recipes for Restoring Old Clothes. The book’s core philosophy, stated in the January 1877 preface, is an admonishment to women to master the domestic arts to make American homes more attractive, sparing husbands "a resort to hotels and saloons" for simple luxuries.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

Marion Cabell Tyree (1826–1912) was a Lynchburg, Virginia, native, a celebrated Virginia housekeeper, and the granddaughter of the famous patriot Patrick Henry. Her status within Virginia's high society, where she was a frequent visitor and guest, allowed her to solicit contributions from 250 of the Commonwealth’s most accomplished housekeepers.

Tyree's objective was explicitly editorial: to gather and select tried-and-true domestic principles and practices from "famous Virginia homes" to preserve a system that combined "the thrifty frugality of New England with the less rigid style of Carolina". The novel contains submissions from incredibly high-profile women of the time, including Mrs. Robert E. Lee and the wives of numerous senators and governors. This book is a product of Tyree's determination to codify and preserve a genteel Southern domestic culture that was rapidly changing after the Civil War.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

The original 1879 publication date places this cookbook squarely in the Reconstruction Era, a time when the South was grappling with immense social, economic, and political upheaval following the Civil War. The war had devastated the Commonwealth of Virginia more than perhaps any other state.

The book's compilation served a clear cultural preservation function, rooted in a nostalgia for the antebellum South and an attempt to maintain the domestic elegance of the "Old Dominion" amidst economic hardship. The book is a striking document of the era's social structures, as the recipes often feature ingredients and labor that would have been managed by enslaved or formerly enslaved African American cooks, whose contributions were rarely credited in the text. The 1965 reprint itself is a time capsule, published during the Civil Rights Movement, reflecting a renewed mid-century interest in historical Southern culture and foodways.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This volume is tailored for a Curator of American Culinary History and a Scholar of Post-Civil War Southern Culture. The Ideal Collector is a chef, historian, or collector seeking primary source material that details the domestic and social life of the 19th-century American South.

The book belongs in a library dedicated to Americana and regional cooking classics. The strong aesthetic of this edition, particularly the red cloth with the gilt stamping, makes it an excellent display piece for a collection of historically important texts.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

This book is a 1965 reprint and is a common edition in the secondary market. The book’s age is 60 years old since this reprint date. The rare 1879 original can retail for significantly more, which dictates a mandatory deduction for this reprint edition.

However, the value is secured by its high content scarcity and Aesthetic Premium. This volume preserves the text, original illustrations, and the historical tributes from numerous prominent American women, including the First Lady, which are the book's true assets. The decorative red cloth and crisp gilt stamping ensure its placement at a premium price for a visually appealing facsimile.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This is a 1965 hardcover reprint lacking the original dust jacket. The binding is a red cloth with elaborate gilt stamping on the cover and spine.

• Positive Qualities:

  • The red cloth binding remains tight and square, providing excellent structural integrity.

  • The elaborate gilt stamping on the front board is bright and crisp, retaining the book's high aesthetic appeal.

  • All content, including the historical tributes and the preface, is intact and clean.

• Imperfections:

  • The gilt on the spine shows light rubbing and minor wear, typical for a book of this age.

  • The boards and corners show minimal shelf wear.

  • The absence of the original dust jacket is factored into the overall deduction.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• The original edition of this book was so respected that it was praised and used by First Lady Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes, among many other prominent political wives of the era.

• The preface is dated January 1877, two years before the actual publication date of 1879, suggesting a lengthy, meticulous compilation process by Tyree.

• The original content includes an incredibly precise recipe for Brunswick Stew, a classic Southern dish, of which the book features four different versions (three of which called for squirrel).

• The full title page quotes a verse from Proverbs 31:10, emphasizing the spiritual importance of a virtuous, thrifty housewife: "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies".

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Title: Housekeeping In Old Virginia: Containing Contributions From Two Hundred and Fifty Of Virginia’s Noted Housewives

• Author: Marion Cabell Tyree (Editor)

• Year of Publication: 1879 (Original Copyright) / MCMLXV (1965) (Reprint Copyright)

• Publisher: Favorite Recipes Press, Inc. (Reprint)

• Place of Origin: Louisville, KY

• Format/Binding: Hardcover, Red Cloth Boards with Gilt Stamping

• Edition: 1965 Reprint/Facsimile of the 1879 Edition

• Rarity: Common Edition, High Content Scarcity

• Verbatim Transcription of Historical Tributes: The book contains a list titled "MANY DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN WOMEN HAVE PAID BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTES TO THIS BOOK; AMONG THE NUMBER ARE:" followed by names including Mrs. President R. B. Hayes, Mrs. Chief Justice M. R. Waite, and Mrs. Secretary of State W. M. Evarts.