Use Restrictions

Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Manuscript copy of paper from Annie K. Southwick recipe book, C0346, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Included in donation by George Mason University professor of English, Rosemary J. Poole, in 1998.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in September 2023. Finding aid completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in September 2023.

Historical Information

Derived from the Latin "recipere" (meaning "to receive" or "to take") "receipt" and "recipe" books have a long history. Originally, both terms were used interchangeably and referred to instructions for the preparation of medicinal mixtures. It wasn't until the mid-1700s that the terms began to be applied to instructions for food preparation and it would take until the early 20th century for the term "recipe" to fully replace the term "receipt". The popularity of both handwritten and published recipe books in the United States reached its height in the 18th and 19th centuries. This newfound popularity is attributed to both increased literacy and mobility in the population, as well as a growth in the immigrant population which encouraged the writing down of traditional and family recipes.

This single manuscript page was originally inserted in a full handwritten recipe book attributed to Annie K. Southwick and dated almost 10 years earlier in March 1875.

Scope and Content

Single page of five handwritten recipes (spelled "receipt") originally found in Annie K. Southwick's recipe book. All recipes are written in paragraph format without a separate list of ingredients or measurements.

Arrangement

This is a single item collection.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center also holds other rare books and manuscripts pertaining to cooking, such as the Rosemary Poole Cookbook Collection and the Elizabeth Fairfax Cookbook.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Cookbooks
• Cooking