The Amateur Cook. Illustrated by Mabel L. Attwell. London: W. & R. Chambers, [1905]. First Edition. Pp 296. Green pictorial cloth & endpapers, title in red & white with gilt line rules. Light shelf-wear to covers, otherwise a nice bright copy.

Illustrated in a wonderful art nouveau style, on the cover and throughout the book by Mable Lucie Attwell, a British illustrator known for her drawings of children’s classics including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Peter Pan and The Water-Babies.

Containing twelve chapters on cakes, bakes and cookery, written in an unusual and intriguing manner, where the writers hope to inject a more ‘frivolous spirit’ into printed works on cookery and baking. The text takes the form of a narrative intermingled with recipes, in which the protagonists, well-to-do early twentieth century ladies, are instructed in baking and cookery.