By the Book: Exploring the Appeal of Vintage Cookbooks

By Sara Jordan Heintz

Food has long been associated with comfort, family, and home. Cookbooks of yesteryear remind readers of those cherished memories and traditions. But entwined with that nostalgia, you’ll also discover snapshots of the past—glimpses of popular culture, evolving ideas on nutrition and gender roles, and endless fads, some of which are coming back. Experts explore cookbooks through various eras while weighing in on what makes them so enduring.

Jennifer Krausnick of Troy, New York, runs VintageCookbookMaven on Etsy, specializing in advertising cookbooks, appliance manuals, antique cookbooks, old baking books, food advertising ephemera, and softcover cookbooks by Good Housekeeping and Culinary Arts Institute.

“I love old cookbooks for their household histories, social commentary, stunning graphic art, retro advertising, old-fashioned recipes, and homey comfort foods,” she says.

Krausnick notes that cookbooks change from decade to decade in terms of recipe variety, complexity, and intended audience. She points out that casual measurements such as a pinch, a drop or a hint were all that guided the U.S. consumer until Fannie Farmer introduced more precise specifications of quantities by volume in her 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. But creativity was lacking.

“If you look at cookbooks from the late 1800s/early 1900s, they’re plain recipes, and you’ll see the same ones over and over — almost like there was standard fare,” she says.

Cookbooks from the 1930s and 40s were strongly influenced by the Great Depression and World War II. These cookbooks featured smaller portion sizes, rationing, and the use of alternative ingredients to create “mock” dishes.

“If you flip through just about any cookbook, pre-1940, you’re going to see a lot of very basic recipes: flour, water, lard, canning, very simple meats and just not super exciting stuff,” Krausnick says. “But the cookbooks could be very pretty. I think during the Depression it almost looks like they kind of made an effort to make cheerful, more colorful things, so the cookbooks sometimes have pretty lithographs. You’ll see Fiestaware and jadeite wares — very colorful kitchenwares. People didn’t have a lot, but everybody had to eat. So if you had to make a cookbook or a salt and pepper shaker, why not make them pretty and cheerful?”

In the mid-20th century, cookbooks exploded with more time-consuming recipes for sit-down meals, with hints of European influence.

1950s Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook (Big Red) Image: WorthPoint

Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook, first published in 1950, remains a fan favorite. Known as “Big Red,” the cookbook contains whimsical illustrations, buzzwords such as informal, quick, easy, simplified, new, favorites (marked with stars), and the oft-repeated phrase “All you have to do…” The American housewife had a friend in the fictional Betty Crocker. Emphasis was placed on carbs, sugar, and protein, with bleached enriched flour as the foundation of many dishes.

Sharon Bee, who runs REDsOutpost.com and the Vintage Everything REDs Outpost Vintage group on Facebook—based in Corinth, Texas—points out that despite the stick-to-your-ribs recipes presented in mid-century cookbooks, the American diet may not necessarily be healthier today.

“How our food is made and grown today is different,” she says. “There are more preservatives, additives — artificial everything. People used to make their own spices, dressings and dips. Now it’s all convenience foods.”

By the 1960s, more women entering the workforce meant less time spent in the kitchen. “In the ’60s, it starts to speed up a little bit. Recipes trend more into faster foods,” Bee adds.

Krausnick says foods meant to impress have advanced with the times. She recalls flipping through a 1930s cookbook with tips on how to impress your man. It showed canapés crafted from potato chips topped with a sardine or anchovy on each one.

McNess’ “Recipes From ‘Round the World” from the 1930s. Image: Getty Images

“You can tell the difference between that being considered fancy and Julia Child bringing in French cooking in the 1960s — definitely a progression toward food as art and an influence of different cuisines from around the world,” she says.

Although microwaves were invented in 1946, they didn’t gain mainstream value until the 1970s. According to Whirlpool.com, by 1986, one in four American households had a microwave oven, and by 1997, nine of every ten American homes had a microwave.

Economic changes continued to influence cookbooks as the ’70s progressed. In 1971, 61% of American households were considered middle class. By 2023, that rate dropped to 51%, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.

Many cookbooks from the 1970s onward emphasize easy-to-make meals (even men could handle), plus ones you could zap in the microwave. How to convert leftovers into groovy gelatin molded salads also had its moment in the spotlight.

“It seems like a lot of wacky things happened in the ’70s,” Krausnick laughs. “It’s my least favorite era.”

But Bee points out that ’70s hairstyles, clothing, and décor are coming back. She says some of her customers who decorate in farmhouse style purchase cookbooks from the 1970s to display in their kitchens.

While cookbook collecting is based on individual tastes, some themes never go out of style, and trusted names in the business continue to sell well.

“I think of the Better Homes & Gardens cookbooks — my mom had one of those and she got married in the ’60s. They had the red-and-white checkered cover with a binder so you could actually pull the pages out. That’s pretty classic,” Krausnick explains. “My mom had the gold ’60s editions of the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, which used to be called the Boston Cooking-School Cookbook. For the fancier moms, you had the Julia Child books and the Joy of Cooking.”

Bee says church cookbooks are hidden gems, with collectors often seeking out ones from specific denominations. Books that contain recipes with three to five ingredients or less remain top sellers.

“Another one that’s gotten popular since COVID, is cookbooks on canning and preserving. I can’t keep those in stock. When I find them, I buy them, and they go out the door. Maybe people are making their own food more, staying home more, getting back to their roots,” Bee says.

She adds that cookbooks with “general” recipes tend to stay in her inventory the longest.

“If you can find a book on a specific narrowed down topic, it’s probably going to have a better chance of selling,” she says. “It could also have to do with search engines, what people are typing in when looking for a cookbook.”

Krausnick says that for people interested in the history of food, the UK-based television show “The Supersizers…” presented by Giles Coren and Sue Perkins, explores the diets of various time periods and the nutritional value gleaned.

“If you’re into food culture, I found it absolutely fascinating,” she adds. “They approach it from a health point of view. They go to a doctor and have certain health biomarkers checked and live in that time period and eat the food for a week. I think in most of the time periods, they were less healthy at the conclusion, except the World War II episode ‘The Supersizers Go…Wartime,’ when they were on rations. They actually lost weight and came out healthier.”

Bee says there are numerous ways for the modern-day cook to adapt old-time recipes, such as making them gluten-free and using alternative flours and oils. She also cautions that oven temperatures and cooking times may vary.

Whether you’re interested in vintage cookbooks for recipes, as eye candy to be displayed, or as portraits of the past, there is no shortage of these books on the market. But consider age, condition, and rarity before you buy.

Krausnick says that while old advertising cookbooks have kitsch value for her customers, the domestic sciences and home economics books that showcase the ins and outs of running a household still resonate.

“They were different times, but women really depended on those,” she notes. “How to garden, can and take care of someone. I’m sure they were a lifeline for a lot of people.”