The cookery book by Antonius Magirus (1612) and historical gastronomy in general
The Koock-book copy that is kept in the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam can now be accessed online. The UvA acquired this copy in 2010 from the estate of the Flemish ethnographer Hervé Stalpaert (1914-1981), as we previously reported. The edition was printed in Antwerp by Martin Verhulst. You can browse through the book and zooming is also possible. Below is a screenshot of the interface.
A third complete copy of the first edition of the Koocboec oft Familieren Keukenboec van Antonius Magirus from 1612 was discovered in a Belgian private collection.
The discovery was made by Etienne Coudeville, jury president of the Silver Ladle , an annual culinary competition organized in cooperation with the West Flemish edition of the local newspaper Streekkrant. Coincidently, this contest celebrates this year (2010) its 35th anniversary.
I have now seen the copy and can confirm its authenticity. Only one copy of the first edition of the Koocboec exists in a public library, namely the Royal Library in Brussels. The other remaining copy is kept in a Dutch private collection.
The current owner bought his copy of the 1612 edition of the Koocboec in Bonn during his vacation in Germany in the beginning of the seventies. He bought it in a small shop run by an elderly lady who also collected cookbooks, but only in German. Because she could not read the book and didn’t know in which language it was written, she decided to sell it. The current owner paid 25 German marks.
The copy is in reasonable condition. Probable water damaged the paper slightly, but the type area is everywhere intact. The model looks complete, although we still have to examine it in detail. The paper is fragile. The book is bound in a light brown parchment binding with no inscription. It is not clear whether this is the original band. In the blank final pages are handwritten notes from previous owners. We still have to decipher these. It is already clear that this copy was in the possession of someone from Oostmalle in Antwerp on May 28, 1844.
So far only five complete copies of the Koocboec were known: two copies of the first Leuven edition from 1612 , two of the Antwerp reprint from 1655 and one of the Antwerp reprint of 1663. Only three public libraries have a copy: the Royal Library in Brussels (first edition 1612), the Heritage Library in Antwerp (reprint of 1663) and the Library of the University of Amsterdam (reprint of 1655). In a Dutch private collection there are two additional copies: one of the first edition and one of the second edition.
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In het Parool verscheen een kort verslag van een historische proeverij op de boot van het Amsterdamse restaurant Lute met gemoderniseerde gerechten uit Koocboec oft Familieren Keukenboec.
De proeverij werd georganiseerd ter promotie van Sail, Old Amsterdam, Lute en de Bijzondere Collecties UvA.