The Home Cook Book

The ladies of 1870s Chicago pooled their recipes and signed every one — corned beef from Mrs. Beaty, lemon pie from Mrs. Saulter.

About the Book

1874Published
the Ladies of Chicago (compiled)Author
990Recipes

The Home Cook Book was compiled from recipes contributed by the ladies of Chicago in the 1870s, sold for the benefit of the Home for the Friendless — one of the first great American charity cookbooks, with every recipe signed by the woman who sent it.

Our copy is missing its first pages, so the text opens mid-essay in the Housekeeping chapter, exactly as the surviving pages run.

This edition is built from a dual-engine reading of the original pages, checked against the scans.

This site reproduces the complete text of the original 1874 edition, digitized page by page from the original printing. The book is in the public domain.

Rights & ReuseThe complete text of The Home Cook Book (1874) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.