THE OLD WALDORF-ASTORIA BAR BOOK; With AMENDMENTS DUE TO REPEAL OF THE XVIIIth by Crockett, Albert Stevens - 1935

New York: A.S. Crockett, 1935. Hardcover. Fair. Green cloth-covered boards, 7 1/2" x 5 1/4". Staining to boards, and joints, and moderate wear to extremities, especially spine,which shows fraying to top and bottom. Very slight crack at rear joint, but apart from a slight spine lean, is still very tightly-bound. Previous owner's stamp to front free endpaper. Lacks dustjacket. Albert Stevens Crockett was a well-known and respected journalist whose interests ranged from spirits (this book), to spiritualism, and communication with the departed soul of his late beloved step-daughter (his book Revelations of Louise). Earlier, Crockett's Old Waldorf Bar Days, by his own account, was more about the social mores of the day, and less about the actual drinks. After that eventful day of repeal, December 5th, 1933, however, Crockett realized there were few barmen alive, or of those yet extant, who remembered many of the recipes of the countless pre-Prohibition libations. He found one, however, a Joseph Taylor, who had managed to hang on to a copy of the informal Waldorf "Bar Book" wherein all new and successful recipes were dutifully inscribed, and incorporating its contents, created this (recipe) book. The author writes: "For the convenience of students of the cultural history and mores of the American people, as well as for those who wish to set a goal before starting to mix, the bibulous concoctions long known and served at the Bar of the Old Waldorf have been arranged alphabetically, and in two general classes. The cocktails have been set down in one list and the others, which might be classed as 'beverages'..."Besides the revised formulas for cocktails and other mixed drinks.included [are] a number of recipes...mostly gathered outside of the United States, and many of them tested and approved by author." A fairly-priced, fairly-beat copy of a scarce book of liquid recipe. NOTE: Library of Congress cites a 1934 issue of this title by Dodd Mead, of which 11 libraries worldwide own copies. Crockett must have taken back publication the following year. 5 libraries worldwide hold this particular edition. "Giving the correct recipes for Five Hundred Cocktails and Mixed Drinks known and served at the world's most famous brass rail before prohibition, together with more than One Hundred Established Formulas for cocktails and other beverages,originated while prohibition was in effect. The whole flavored with dashes of history mixed in a shaker of anecdote and served with a chaser of illuminative information..."