OP: Eight Single Subject Pamphlets by John Thorne
John Thorne, long based in New England, is a determined individualist who stays mainly out of the public eye. He is most widely known for his newsletter, Simple Cooking, which was published from 1983 to the late-2010s. But before the newsletter and before the books that evolved out of them came single subject, self-published pamphlets that led to all the rest.
From 1980 to 1985, Thorne published such pamphlets with titles like the following: A Treatise on Onion Soup; The English Muffin; Pizza: The Art of the Pizzaiolo; Rice & Beans; Aglio, Oglio, Basilico; Down East Chowder; The Dill Crock; and Just Another Bowl of Texas Red.
With his particularly introspective, quirky, and near-obsessive focus on his subject, Thorne has a way of capturing the simple pleasures of food and eating in ways that elude even the most seasoned writers. He is a delight to read, and his research is thorough, but there is no doubt that he writes for himself, following his own curiosity, which never seems fully sated. His perspective is refreshing and enlightening.
The slim, staplebound pamphlets are now quite scarce and hardly ever seen on the secondary market. We offer here a set of the aforementioned eight, each individual booklet in Fine, unused condition. [It is worth noting that the Onion Soup booklet, the first printed, is a stated second edition. The first, done in 1979 as a gift for his friends, likely had a very limited run, and everything that became commercially available was from this second edition.] For Thorne fans, this will be an invaluable addition to the roster, and for those new to his work, the perfect introduction.