Collectible Cookbooks with the Most Artistic Covers
Here at Cookbook Village we often discuss our love of specific cookbook genres like autographed, vintage, and restaurant cookbooks. We have written dozens of articles related to the topic of cookbook collecting specializations including "top five" or "best-of-the-best" lists on the most popular collectibles in different categories.
Most collectors, like us, have a favorite cookbook category. Sometimes though, we break the mold and purchase a book purely for its artistic flair, unique look-and-feel, or stunning cover design. Yes, it feels a bit shallow when we don't even look at the inside pages--the recipes, the stories, the facts. We inherently understand that it's "what's on the inside that counts." Still, we can't help ourselves from sometimes choosing looks over substance. Sound familiar?
Following is our list of some of the most artistic cookbook collectibles. Once you see the images, you'll understand just why we had to have them. Most of these are somewhat difficult collectibles to find and are current sold out from our store. The good news is that we update our inventory constantly and often see things back on the shelf again over time. Also of note is that we have covered these in our cookbook collectibility reviews our Cookbook Collecting and Reviews store blog.
Hungarian Cookery: Recipes New and Old from Paprikas Weiss
The Paprikas Weiss store in New York City published one of our all time favorite cookbook covers. We covered this in one of our cookbook reviews, but it didn't fare too well in our collectibility scale. We found it a shame the book wasn't more recognized, noting in our article that "with its beautiful cover art and authentic recipes, it's surprising this book doesn't have a much higher value." Our Pinterest activity on this cookbook image shows others share our love of this beautiful cookbook.
Format: Hardcover, 276 pages
Copyright: 1977
Publisher: Paprikas Weiss Importer
Author: Edward Weiss (Editor)
See Our Cookbook Collectibility Review
The I Hate to Cook Book by Peg Bracken
This popular vintage collectible cookbook has one of our favorite cover designs. We just love the illustration and layout. It's a cookbook cover that is easily spotted and remembered. The cookbook has lost some of its popularity in the past few years, but we feel it's a worthy collectible based on its artwork alone. Bracken put together humorous cookbooks. Her Saturday Chicken recipe is featured in our blog and is still very popular with our visitors 50+ years after the book was published.
Format: Hardcover with dust jacket, 276 pages
Copyright: 1960, First Edition
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace & World
Author: Peg Bracken
See Our Cookbook Colletibility Review
Trader Vic's Kitchen Kibitzer - The Cookbook for Men
We loved this cookbook when we first offered it on Cookbook Village's store site. It was such a special collectible, not only because of its famous author, but because of its amazing cover art. We had a copy of this sweet vintage collectible not long ago, but it was heavily damaged and we opted not to put the copy in our stock of mainly gently used cookbooks. The cookbook was published in 1952 and was authored by Victor Bergeron (aka Trader Vic). The book in itself is fairly inexpensive in terms of vintage cookbooks, but there is almost no way any collector would pass up a copy of this ... and you can see why from this image of its cover.
Format: Hardcover with dust jacket, 223 pages
Copyright: 1952
Publisher: Doubleday & Company
Author: Trader Vic
See Our Cookbook Collectibility Review
Recipes From The East Cookbook
This artwork is just plain old fashioned fun! The simple, yet colorful and delightful illustrations in Irma Walker Ross' Recipes from the East cookbook from 1952 are among our favorites.The book's format is small--like a small pocket paperback size 5-1/2" x 7-1/2". Still, what it lacks in size, it makes up for with charm. Inside the cookbook you'll find small line art color illustrations that are reminiscent of the 50s cookbooks.
Format: Softcover spiral bound, 90 pages
Copyright: 1962, Tenth Printing
Publisher: Charles E. Tuttle Company
Author: Irma Walker Ross
German Village Cook Book
We were extremely excited when we found this cookbook. Others were excited too, as it sold out quickly from the Cookbook Village store. What a lucky customer as this is a special find due to its unique cover illustration. Hats of to The German Village Society for arranging such an amazing cover. Thanks to this cookbook, we also learned something about this unique community in Ohio. We wish we could pay it a visit and try some of the nearby German cuisine.
Format: Softcover spiral bound, 119 pages
Copyright: 1968, First Edition
Publisher: The German Village Society, Inc.
Author: Members of The German Village Society, Columbus Ohio
