Mastering the Art of French Cooking

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1973. Twenty-fourth Printing, November, 1973. Patterned fleur-de-lis boards w/turquoise stars, black and white cover and spine titles on crisp orange fields, fine. Pages near fine, sharp. Vintage name at front endpaper: "Jan Shipman". Bright orange top edge. Bind fine; hinges intact. Original dust wrapper with bright crisp spine titles, light edge wear, chip; protected in new clear sleeve. Near fine 1973 printing of the first edition in very good wrapper. "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" is for both seasoned cooks and beginners who love good food & long to reproduce at home the savory delights of the classic cuisine, from the historic Gallic masterpieces to the seemingly artless perfection of a dish of spring-green peas. This beautiful book, with over 100 instructive illustrations, is revolutionary in its approach because: It leads the cook infallibly from the buying and handling of raw ingredients, through each essential step of a recipe, to the final creation of a delicate confection. It breaks down the classic cuisine into a logical sequence of themes and variations rather than presenting an endless and diffuse catalogue of recipes; the focus is on key recipes that form the backbone of French cookery and lend themselves to an infinite number of elaborations bound to increase anyone's culinary repertoire. A note about authors at last page. 684 pages plus index. Insured post.. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Very Good. Illus. by Coryn, Sidonie (Illustrations). 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Book.