6th Jun, 2024 10:00
Cameras & Scientific Auction
La Cuisine Chinoise, LECOURT, Henri. 1925
La Cuisine Chinoise, LECOURT, Henri, Published by Pékin: Albert Nachbaur, 1925, the first book in French on Chinese Cooking, in original glassine wrapper, with recent owners bookplate
500 copies were released as the trade issue on papier pelure Chinois, with pagination errors from the earlier printing corrected, this is number 334
This comprehensive study of Chinese cuisine was authored by the French chef Henri Lecourt, who served as "head of the French post at Tianjin and a member of the Order of the Cloud of Jade Green", Lecourt, married to a Chinese chef, collaborated with her on the research for this groundbreaking book. He was a knowledgeable connoisseur of both French and Chinese cooking. The work features a chapter on smoking vegetables, appropriate spices and their substitutes, and numerous tofu recipes. It also provides detailed accounts of the origins of the recipes, as well as insights into Chinese table manners and dining etiquette. The publisher notes that "In the enormous bibliography devoted to cooking, one would seek in vain, written in a European language, a document on Chinese gastronomy. We must therefore praise Mr. Lecourt, one of our compatriots residing in China for many years, knowing Chinese and Chinese inside out, for having filled this gap."
Sold for £262
Result including buyers premium
La Cuisine Chinoise, LECOURT, Henri, Published by Pékin: Albert Nachbaur, 1925, the first book in French on Chinese Cooking, in original glassine wrapper, with recent owners bookplate
500 copies were released as the trade issue on papier pelure Chinois, with pagination errors from the earlier printing corrected, this is number 334
This comprehensive study of Chinese cuisine was authored by the French chef Henri Lecourt, who served as "head of the French post at Tianjin and a member of the Order of the Cloud of Jade Green", Lecourt, married to a Chinese chef, collaborated with her on the research for this groundbreaking book. He was a knowledgeable connoisseur of both French and Chinese cooking. The work features a chapter on smoking vegetables, appropriate spices and their substitutes, and numerous tofu recipes. It also provides detailed accounts of the origins of the recipes, as well as insights into Chinese table manners and dining etiquette. The publisher notes that "In the enormous bibliography devoted to cooking, one would seek in vain, written in a European language, a document on Chinese gastronomy. We must therefore praise Mr. Lecourt, one of our compatriots residing in China for many years, knowing Chinese and Chinese inside out, for having filled this gap."
Auction: Cameras & Scientific Auction, 6th Jun, 2024
