Bidspirit auction | [COOKING] - RARE FIRST EDITION

[COOKING] - RARE FIRST EDITION OF AN ICONIC BAROQUE COOKBOOK — A LANDMARK IN ITALIAN CULINARY HISTORY - LATINI Antonio (1642 - 1692) - [GASTRONOMY – EARLY COOKBOOK] Antonio Latini. Lo scalco alla moderna, overo l’arte di ben disporre i conviti. Napoli, 1692-94. 2 parts in 1 volume. 4to (approx. 230 x 170 mm); contemporary full limp vellum with yapp edges, manuscript title on spine. Title pages printed in large type with typographic ornaments. Internal wear and occasional light staining; generally well preserved. Text in Italian, complete with both parts. (6), 606, (10) - (4), 256, (2) ff, 2 engraved plates and portrait of the author. Old restoration to leaves 157/158 with partial loss of text. Some foxing due to paper quality, watermarking to lower margins, but overall an excellent copy of the very first edition of both volumes - published in different years- of the most influential cookbooks of the Italian Baroque era, written by Antonio Latini, steward and courtier from the Marche region who served in the households of Roman and Neapolitan nobility. The book focuses on meat dishes and banquet organization, dedicates itself to Lenten and fish-based cuisine (Vivande di Magro). Latini’s book is one of the first to mention tomatoes in Italian cooking, placing him at the birth of modern Mediterranean cuisine, a vital text for the study of early modern gastronomy, courtly culture, and Baroque lifestyle Latini was the precursor to later works by Artusi, Scappi, and other culinary greats