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Last modified: October 14, 2012
© 2012 University of Delaware Library
Identification: MSS 097, Item 107
Creator: Fotterall, Sarah K.
Title: Manuscript recipe book
Inclusive Dates: circa 1800-1864
Extent: 1 v. (152 p.) ; 20 cm.
Abstract: This early- to mid-nineteenth-century manuscript book records recipes for food, medicinal cures, and household tips. It belonged to Sarah K. Fotterall who may have lived in the Mid-Atlantic region, possibly Philadelphia.
Language: Materials entirely in English.
MSS 097, Item 107, Sarah K. Fotterall, Manuscript recipe book, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.
Item 107: Shelved in SPEC MSS 097
Special Collections, University of Delaware Library / Newark, Delaware 19717-5267 / Phone: 302-831-2229 / Fax: 302-831-6003 / URL: http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/
Gift of the Moyerman Family, 1972.
Processed and encoded by Lindsey Baker, June 2007.
The collection is open for research.
Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://www.lib.udel.edu/cgi-bin/askspec.cgi
Sarah K. Fotterall is the creator of this nineteenth-century manuscript recipe book. Certain recipe ingredients, such as oysters, tomatoes, and peaches, suggest that she may have lived in the mid-Atlantic region. Furthermore, the use of imported produce such as lemons, oranges, coconut, and pineapples indicate that the author had access to a port city, possibly Philadelphia.
Sources:
Biographical information derived from the collection.
This nineteenth-century manuscript volume, containing food and medicinal receipts, belonged to Sarah K. Fotterall, whose name is engraved on the front cover. This small, leather-bound volume contains recipes for a variety of types of food and drink, home remedies, and housekeeping tips.
The food and drink recipes are arranged in categories such as meat preparation and pickling. They include instructions for preparing fish, beef, pastries, vegetables, bread, beer, and cordials. The medicinal recipes include instructions for treating colds, swelling, cough, and cramps. The housekeeping hints are much fewer in number and include instructions for cleaning silk and preventing hair loss. Some of the recipes throughout the book are attributed to others, such as the Brandy Peaches, which are noted as "Mrs. Birking's receipt."
Food receipts comprise the front three-quarters of the volume. Between the sections, some pages are left blank, preserving space for later additions. Several pages have also been torn out. The remaining quarter consists of medicinal receipts, followed by a small number of housekeeping receipts. Fotterall oriented the food and medicinal sections differently, so the reader must turn the volume upside-down to view the final section.
The volume consists of 152 pages, 118 of which bear writing in ink and pencil; marbleized pastedowns; and four items laid-in items, including instructions on how to wash blankets and a newspaper clipping dated 1864.
Manuscript recipe book, circa 1800-1864 [Box 107]
1 v.
