Series

The documents in this series cover nearly two centuries of culinary and domestic history. They chronicle culinary practices, trends and tastes, and how these were transmitted from one generation to the next. They also illustrate how individuals recorded various tips and recipes in handwritten or typewritten journals, notebooks, loose sheets or scrapbooks. Various annotations illustrate how users adapted the recipes.

For example, two collections that belonged to Whildred N. Benson, dated 1910 and 1916, respectively, consist of handwritten recipes recorded in "Farringdon Private Recipe Books," designed expressly for this purpose by London publisher John Walker & Co. Ltd. Various documents have been tucked between the pages, including handwritten notes, newspaper clippings, promotional cards from J. E. Tremble, Dispensing Chemist, located at the corner of St. Catherine and Crescent streets in Montreal, a recipe booklet from Golden Sheaf, a cereal brand produced by MacLaren Roller Mills in Wakefield, Quebec, and a Canadian National postcard featuring recipes of dishes served in the railway company's dining car. Dating from the mid-18th century, the collection that belonged to Mary Apston is contained in a leather bound notebook. Recipes are neatly written on the right-hand side pages. Other handwritten notes occasionally appear on the left-hand side pages and in the few last pages of the notebook, which seems to have been used to record expenses. Recipes have also been recorded, by hand, in two other notebooks that resemble account books: one bears the brand name of Dawson & Co., and the other that of Montreal stationer Charles F. Dawson.

In addition, various documents have been collected in a ring binder. Among these are a booklet from Eagle Brand condensed milk, recipes from the "Bon appétit" team at Radio-Canada, photocopies of pages from a Janette Bertrand cookbook, and press clippings glued onto sheets of paper. A typewritten page introduces these records, explaining that the recipes and notes were collected by Berthe Laurin-Brunotto, and then reorganized by her daughter Lorraine. Another binder contains pages of recipes and cards cut out from the American magazines Better Homes & Gardens and The American Home.

Finally, some notebooks also include recipes and tips for household maintenance or body care. For example, in a "tête-bêche" (head to toe) notebook dated July 17, 1888, that belonged to Annie Baker, recipes for macaroons, cakes, puddings, baked ham, meat patties and pies are written alongside tips for cleaning cashmere and lace, polishing furniture, killing ants and getting rid of bedbugs. Other collections offer recipes for cleaning marble and hair, clothing and fabric, as well as remedies for various ailments (seasickness, colds, indigestion, dandruff, chapping, styes, etc.).