OP: The Derrydale Cook Book of Fish and Game
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The Derrydale Press, New York, 1937. Hardcover. Near Fine in Good slipcase. Signed first printing.
French-born Louis De Gouy (1869–1947) worked for Escoffier, served as the head chef at the Waldorf-Astoria for three decades, and was a prolific cookbook author. He came to be best known for his lengthiest work, The Gold Cook Book (1947), which was published just weeks before he died. But within his lifetime, The Derrydale Cook Book of Fish and Game (1937) was his crowning glory.
First issued in a handsomely bound, two volume limited edition by outdoor and sporting books publisher The Derrydale Press, Fish and Game exceeds all expectations of the genre. These are not rustic, creekside preparations but the stunning, refined work of a restaurant chef.
The recipes demonstrate De Gouy’s depth of experience and range. You’ll find fogoly libamajszeletekkel, a Hungarian dish of larded and roasted partridges, served with goose liver pate, a mushroom-Madeira sauce, bread, and currant jelly. Then there’s a jugged deer fillet Remoise—which De Gouy traces back to a 1429 recipe found in a library—involving a 4-day marinade flavored with juniper and saffron.
From the volume on fish, you might try a Dutch eel chowder; a German-style pickerel stuffed with oysters, roe, and aromatics, then baked with mushrooms, Moselle wine, and ham; or Baltimore terrapin, braised in Sherry with liver and cayenne, and served simply with toast and no garnish.
The recipes are far more suggestive than prescriptive, assuming you already know what you’re doing and need ideas, not instructions. This, along with the absence of an index, forces a full exploration of the text. While the style may alienate the novice, it will fully immerse the curious.
Both volumes are Near Fine. In their combined total of over 600 pages, I’ve spotted only one page with penciled marginalia, one tiny dog ear, and one faint splash; otherwise they are clean. Printed on sturdy stock and bound in deep red cloth with gilt decorations. The slipcase is intact but only barely, heavily worn and cracking. Limited edition of 1250. Both volumes are hand numbered and signed and inscribed by De Gouy to NYC real estate tycoon Martin Huberth, Jr.
