The Gentleman's Companion and The South American Gentleman's Companion

New York: Crown Publishers, 1946. Very Good. 1946, 1951. Signed. Two two-volume sets, with each volume inscribed by the author to the same friends, Dorothy and Wes Pape. Baker's inscriptions in The Gentleman's Companion, both dated Sept. 2, 1946, refer to a deer hunting trip Baker took with the couple. Beneath both is another inscription signed "PPB", likely Baker's wife, Pauline Paulsen Baker. Rear endpaper of volume II shows signatures and addresses from multiple people. Both volumes of The South American Gentleman's Companion are inscribed by Baker to Dorothy, though this time in Java Head in 1951. A Very Good set, in Very Good slip cases. All volumes show fading to cloth at spine. Light spotting to pages and soiling to cloth of volume II of Gentleman's Companion. Half-inch split in cloth to top rear edge of spine to volume I of the South American Gentleman's Companion. Slip cases show rubbing at extremities and toning to paper labels. A very lovely complete set, all signed association copies. Baker traveled the world, collecting exotic food and drink recipes, writing columns for magazines such as Esquire, and Gourmet. His drinking companions included the likes of Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.