Lady Sysonby's Cook Book

Sysonby, Ria. Lady Sysonby's Cook Book. (2nd Ed). Putnam & Co: London, 1948. 8vo (195x125mm) illust dj, cream illustrated bds, xi,[1],264pp. (introduction by Osbert Sitwell; decoration by Oliver Messel)

SYSONBY, 'Ria' [Victoria Lily Hegan Ponsonby, Baroness Sysonby (née Kennard; 1874 - 1955)]

Lady Sysonby's Cook Book

London, 42 Great Russell St : Putnam & Co, 1948. New edition (2nd) revised and enlarged. First published November 1935. Printed by Unwin Brothers Ltd, London & Woking.  Introduction by Osbert Sitwell, decoration by Oliver Messel.

Octavo (195x125mm) illustrated dust jacket, cream illustrated boards, xi,[1],264pp. Frontispiece and ten in-text plates, all colour.  Dust jacket neatly price clipped, spine faintly sunned; top edges trifle dusty; end-papers and edges lightly foxed; p.49 unopened; internally fine.

A charming interwar cookbook founded with recipes from her Grandmother and Mother, that, as is noted in the introduction, were "intended for those, not necessarily rich, who want good food and mean to have it."    Notwithstanding a close association with the Royal Family due to her husband's service as a private secretary to Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V and later as Keeper of the Privy Purse (many of the dishes are said to have been eaten by Queen Victoria), the dishes are practical and well suited to a young family of moderate means.  The chapters include recipes for Soup, Fish, Luncheon Dishes, Meat, Poultry and Game, Vegetables, Salads, Puddings, Savouries, Cakes, Jams and Jellies, Sauces, Sandwiches and Mixed Drinks.  

The second edition was expanded to include a number of practical dishes she tested during the war years.  Although the issue of postwar scarcity is addressed, it is not belaboured, Sysonby suggesting that commonsense and substitution would see most home cooks through.  Wartime dishes such as Woolton Pie (p.52) and War mayonnaise (p.203), sit amongst many dishes that would have been affected by the ration during the war.  The chapter on Mixed Drinks contains many interesting cocktails.


 In the Author's Note Lady Sysonby maintains that 'Every recipe has been successfully achieved by my own good plain cooks who have never been chefs '.

Oliver Messel (1904 - 1978) was an English artist and stage designer.

A lovely copy of a collectible and most practical and beautifully illustrated mid-twentieth century British cook book.