Manuel des Amphitryons;: contenant un traité de la dissection des viandes à table, la nomenclature des menus les plus nouveaux pour chaque saison, et des élémens de politesse gourmande.

(CARVING)
GRIMOD DE LA REYNIERE (Alexandre-Balthazar-Laurent):
Manuel des Amphitryons; contenant un traité de la dissection des viandes à table, la nomenclature des menus les plus nouveaux pour chaque saison, et des élémens de politesse gourmande.

Paris: Capelle et Renand, 1808.

Engraved frontispiece and 16 plates (10 folding) by Jean-François Tourcaty.

8vo., 384 pp. complete with its half-title, Tables, and errata (often missing in some copies); vintage half gilt leather spine with title label, marbled boards (spine and corners lightly scuffed, internally clean with wide margins.

An excellent copy of this seminal guide to the art of entertaining by the great gourmand and father of food writing, Grimod de la Reynière (1758-1837). His Manuel des Amphitryons includes sections on carving, menus, and dining etiquette, and is illustrated with a fine series of 17 plates showing the carving of meat, poultry, and fish. The work is indispensable, according to the author himself, for those wishing to eat well, and to show the world their ability to do so. In addition to offering brief but essential instructions for carving, book two describes seasonal menus for gatherings of 15 to 60 guests, while the final section is a veritable conduct manual for both hosts and their guests, offering insights on invitations, table manners, wine, and the protocols of dining at home or dining out. This volume appeared when Grimod was engaged in publishing the fifth year of his important "Almanach des Gourmands," the world's first food journal, which he edited from 1803-1812.
Reference: Cagle 233; Lilly Library, Une Affaire du Goût 133; Vicaire 427; Simon 805; Bitting 203