Cocoa: All About It

London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company, Limited, 1896. 'Pioneers in the Chocolate Industry'

[CADBURY, Richard]. Cocoa: All About It. By "Historicus". London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company, Limited, 1896.

Second edition, revised. Small quarto (8 1/8 x 6 1/4 inches; 207 x 159 mm.). Text printed in blue. [xii], 99, [1, advertisement] pp. Twenty plates printed in blue including folding frontispiece, three color plates and numerous illustrations in the text.

Publisher's maroon cloth, front cover decorated in gilt, spine lettered in gilt, blue coated endpapers. Small crease on lower cover, gilt on spine slightly dulled, otherwise an excellent copy.

"Three years ago the writer ventured to place before the public some details respecting the cultivation and use of Cocoa, and he has since been enabled to collect much new, and as he believes, valuable information. Few early books treat accurately or exhaustively of the subject, but nearly all the earlier travellers and settlers refer to Cocoa as an important article of consumption in South America and Mexico, long before it was known in Europe. A number of extracts have been made from publications and manuscripts in the British Museum and elsewhere, and exact copies of some very rare plates have been produced by the photo-zinco process, which it is hoped will prove of general interest." (Introduction).

"In Britain, the name of Cadbury has been synonymous with chocolate ever since John Cadbury opened his factory in 1831. This book, written by Richard Cadbury (1835-99) under the pen name 'Historicus', was published in 1892. It describes the natural history of the tropical American cocoa plant, its spread in cultivation across the world, and the history of its use. He also deals with the manufacturing process, as exemplified by the Cadbury factory at Bournville, surrounded by the model housing and leisure facilities which the family built for its workers. The processing of cocoa beans into solid and drinking chocolate is described in detail, with emphasis on the developments in machinery which simplified production. A chapter deals with the importance of the vanilla plant for flavouring, and an appendix gives guidance on the cultivation of cocoa trees. This remains a fascinating account of one of the world's most popular indulgences.