1960s Queer Cookbook "The Gay Cookbook"

Lou Rand Hogan Cooking

First Edition

[LGBTQ][Gay] Hogan, Lou Rand. The Gay Cookbook. New York: Bell Publishing Company, by arrangement with Sherbourne Press, 1965. Illustrated by David Costain. First edition, later printing. Original illustrated red cloth boards. No jacket, as issued. The Gay Cookbook is widely considered the first "openly gay cookbook" published in the United States. Written chef and novelist Lou Rand Hogan, the work is “the complete compendium of campy cuisine and menus for men… or what have you.” Presented in the form of humorous yet practical culinary instruction, Hogan’s text combines real recipes (“Oysters, Lobsters, Shrimp, and What to Do with Crabs”; “That Tired Old Fish”) with theatrical asides written in a distinctly flamboyant persona. The tongue-in-cheek tone is paired with real culinary skill, as Hogan draws on years of experience in hotel kitchens and on ocean liners. The book’s introduction parodies traditional cookbooks and promises a version of cuisine attuned to “bachelors” and “ladies on Madison.” Hogan's wry wordplay is both self-parody and self-assertion, representing an over-the-top but celebratory articulation of gay identity before the gay liberation movement. The Gay Cookbook stands as an essential cultural artifact of pre-Stonewall era queer life and humor.

Soiling and dampstaining to front board a lower left corner, wear to joints and chipping to top and bottom of spine. One significant chip to lower left corner at spine. End pages and pastedown with some age spotting and discoloration, inner pages otherwise clean and clear. Overall good condition. A scarce survival of gay identity and self-expression in the pre-Stonewall era.

Item #22805

Price: $450.00