1894 FIRST Edition Fancy Ices by Mrs AB Marshall / Marshall's School of Cookery London / Hugely Important in Popularising Ice Cream / SCARCE

An extremely scarce and important first edition cookery book here. A huge contributor to popularising ice cream and a piece of food history. Here is a copy of Fancy Ices by Mrs AB Marshall who was to become known as the "Queen of Ices". Undated but would have been published in 1894 by Marshall's School of Cookery. Extremely hard to come-by and even a 1999 facsimile edition is sought after. Only a single book on ice cream is known from England before Marshall's work and she helped popularise ice cream at a time when the concept was still novel in England and elsewhere.

Agnes Bertha Marshall was an English culinary entrepreneur, inventor, and celebrity chef. An unusually prominent businesswoman for her time, Marshall was particularly known for her work on ice cream and other frozen desserts, which in Victorian England earned her the moniker "Queen of Ices". Marshall is often regarded as the inventor of the modern ice cream cone and a promoter of the portable ice cream freezer. Before Marshall's writings and innovations, ice cream was often sold frozen to metal rods which had to be returned after all had been licked off and was mainly enjoyed by just the upper classes. Through her work, Marshall may be largely responsible for both the look and popularity of ice cream today.

Here we have a hardback first edition copy of Fancy Ices which was published as a result of public demand for a more comprehensive work on the art of desserts than given in its hugely popular predecessor, Book of Ices (1885). Packed full of recipes with some detailed black line drawn illustrations. Marshall's recipes were renowned for their detail, simplicity and accuracy. A few examples of the ices included are for Torpedo Ice; French Tangerine Souffle; Pistachio Souffle; Melon Sorbet With Champagne. Marshall was a true innovator and there are even recipes in here for frozen vegetable ices.

Inside the pages are tightly bound with a few dark handling marks and the occasional folded corner. There is some tanning, staining and spotting to the blank endpapers where there is also a small inscription on the front paste down (see photos). Otherwise there is no other writing or markings of previous ownership. The closed outside edges have tanned. At the back of the book is a 30-page section full of vintage advertisements, these are also fantastic (see photos) being for all kinds of mind-boggling contraptions.

With some wear to the boards. Dark blue cloth covered boards with bevelled edges have a wonderful polar bear carrying a tray of ices design in silver, and frozen icicle titles. Has rubbing to the cloth at the corners and the spine ends. With some faded areas to the blue on the front, some dark marks around the edges and a few white-wash paint marks. Some of the silver has rubbed away in places. The rear board has a few light marks. The spine has blind stamped titles which are hard to discern. I can only find one other copy of this book and the spine is exactly the same leading me to the conclusion that this is how the spine was produced, rather than that there once having been gilt which has subsequently faded.

Despite the wear this remains a fantastic, eye-catching cover.

Your antique copy of Fancy Ices will be wrapped with care in tissue and ribbon* and sent well packaged. I am always happy to add a gift card with a message to the parcel.

H 21 cm x W 14.5 cm, 321 pages, 0.59 kg. I dispatch worldwide daily from the UK. With the exception of a small number of countries.

* If you would prefer for your book not to be decoratively wrapped but sent simply in the protective packaging please add a note to the order.

You can follow my regular news and updates on Instagram @bumperboxofdelights