OP: The Seducer's Cookbook

Random House, 1963. Hardcover. Good. First printing.

For an ardent fan or the completionist collector, this early book by the food authority and former New York Times restaurant critic is a nice find. Published in 1963, and about as culturally distant from her classic From My Mother’s Kitchen (1979) as is possible, The Seducer’s Cookbook offers, light-heartedly “helpful and hilarious hints for 20 situations into which men may lure women, and vice versa.” 

The humor does creak a little. And, not surprisingly, the accompanying cartoons and the devilled eggs with pâté stuffing or the toasted almond soufflé with foamy brandy sauce evoke a time long, long ago.

Ours is a first printing in Good condition, lacking the jacket. The book block is generally clean, and the case shows staining and shelfwear. A good reading copy. Most enjoyable to those with a wry sense of humor.