“WHAT SHALL WE HAVE FOR DINNER?”
HILLER, Elizabeth O. The Calendar of Dinners. Chicago: P.F. Volland, circa 1910. Tall, narrow octavo, original cord-bound (top edge) stiff illustrated paper covers.
First edition of this scarce and wonderful calendar of dinner recipes— one for each day of the year— selected by “one of America’s four famous cooks.”
“The elegance of the dinner depends upon the choice of viands, their preparation and service, rather than upon the number of courses.” Elizabeth O. Hiller was a well-known “lecturer on household science” and Principal of the Chicago Domestic Science Training School. Her series of calendars, including those on salads, luncheons, sandwiches, desserts and cakes were all published by the P.F. Volland Company. German-born Paul Frederick Volland founded the his company with the intention of publishing artful greeting cards. By 1917 he had expanded his scope to include calendars and children’s books, among them the famous Raggedy Ann series. Hiller’s culinary calendars continued to be his steady best-sellers. Two pages of publisher’s advertisements at rear.
Text quite clean, with only an occasional mark of handling, covers slightly soiled top and bottom, small crimp to right edge. An extremely good copy. Scarce.