Early Italian Immigrant Maria Gentile Italian Cook Book and the Transmission of Italian American Domestic Cuisine 1919

Italian Immigration Maria Gentile

First Edition

Gentile, Maria. The Italian Cook Book: The Art of Eating Well (1919) documents the early transmission of Italian culinary practice into American domestic life following mass Italian immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Written in English with bilingual Italian headings, the work presents Italian cuisine to an American readership at a moment when immigrant foodways were entering broader cultural circulation. As a female-authored cookbook produced in the immediate post–World War I period, it identifies women’s domestic labor as a central site for the preservation and adaptation of ethnic identity. The volume supports research into immigration history, food studies, and women’s roles in shaping household economy and cultural continuity.

Gentile, Maria. The Italian Cook Book: The Art of Eating Well. Practical Recipes of the Italian Cuisine: Pastries, Sweets, Frozen Delicacies and Syrups. New York: Italian Book Co., 1919. First edition. Text in English with bilingual Italian headings. Single volume, 92 pages. Bound in black pebbled boards with gilt title stamped to front cover, 8vo. The book opens with a preface linking Italian domestic practice to wartime conditions, stating that “the home of an Italian family… has proved more than once to be a model of food economy,” and positions its recipes as “palatable, healthy, and economic.” Contents include foundational dishes such as brodo, polenta, and risotti alongside pastries, sweets, and syrups, reflecting both everyday sustenance and celebratory traditions. Recipes are written in a direct instructional style intended for practical household use.

Published during a period when Italian cuisine was not yet fully integrated into mainstream American food culture, this work contributes to the early documentation and dissemination of regional Italian cooking in the United States. The emphasis on frugality and efficiency reflects broader economic concerns of the postwar era, while the inclusion of traditional dishes demonstrates the retention of cultural practices within immigrant households. Female authorship further situates the text within the gendered framework of domestic instruction and culinary authority in the early twentieth century. Spine replaced with black tape, with text block intact and covers and pages clean; overall good to fair condition. This volume provides early evidence of Italian American culinary adaptation and the role of women in shaping American food culture.

Item #22292

Price: $980.00