OP: Simple French Food (signed)

Theneum, New York, 1974. Hardcover. Near Fine/ Very Good. Signed second printing.
 
It seems hard to believe that Richard Olney’s Simple French Food was published in 1974. This amazingly durable book—up until very recently continuously in print in a variety of editions—has served as an introduction to fine cooking for innumerable professionals as well as devoted amateurs. 

Rooted in a French tradition less familiar to most Americans—not the haute variety but rather cuisine simple—it combines in an effortless fashion the fundamentals of theory and technique with a huge battery of illustrative recipes. It is the food of the provinces and of the urban bistros of France—hearty preparations of fresh noodles with chicken breast; Breton chowder; braised stuffed oxtail; baked apple curd—lively, fresh, and conceptually simple.

Olney (1927–1999), an American painter, lived in France, mainly in Provence, for close to fifty years, tutoring himself and cooking with some of his adopted country’s most admired home cooks and country restaurant proprietors. Filled with rich detail, little publicized tips and kitchen tricks and seldom-described cooking basics such as the making of vinegar, this book, his first, has won a devoted following.
 
We are pleased to offer a signed second printing—with its distinct and widely recognized blue, red, and black jacket (which inspired one of our store t-shirt designs). The book block and case are Near Fine, the only flaw being some light page creasing, which appears to be a manufacturing error, affecting only a handful of leaves in the center of the book. The jacket is shelfworn but intact. An excellent gift or a pleasure to have for one’s own collection.