“We have spent the greater part of our adult lives collecting books and other printed material we judged significant to defining an American culinary history. Because of the unusual depth and breadth of the collection, it would be virtually impossible to duplicate today. We felt it would be a disservice to scatter it through auction or catalog, especially when universities are beginning to appreciate culinary history as a valued intellectual discipline. Fortunately, the Clements Library and the University of Michigan, with their commitment to raising an endowment for a permanent, full-time curator of American culinary history, are in the forefront in this view.

“The symbiotic relationship of the donated culinary material and the Clements’ other holdings was an additional spur, as was the support of the staff at Clements and a dedicated core of volunteers willing to help organize and catalog so that future researchers might help us understand America’s culinary legacy. Thus, the decision to donate to the Clements was an easy one.”

Longone biography:

Jan (Janice Bluestein) Longone is Curator of American Culinary History at the William Clements Library at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She is the proprietor of the Wine and Food Library, the oldest culinary antiquarian bookshop in America and founder and honorary chair of the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor.

In addition to her curatorial duties and her book business, she is a writer, lecturer, teacher, consultant and radio commentator in the general field of gastronomy. She has worked extensively on culinary history exhibitions and collection development.

Longone wrote the entries on American cookbook history and a number of biographies for the “Oxford Companion to Food” and has contributed to and is an associate editor for the forthcoming   “Oxford Encyclopedia on Food and Drink in America.” She has served on the National Board of the American Institute of Wine and Food and is an advisor to COPIA, The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, based in Napa, California.

She currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for the University of California-Berkeley’s new book series, “Studies in Food and Culture” as well as its new journal, Gastronomica, for which she writes the Vintage Volumes column. She is a consultant to the Feeding America project of Michigan State University, which has created an online collection of 19th and early 20th century American cookbooks.

In June 2000, she was presented the Food Arts Silver Spoon Award in recognition of her scholarly determination to preserve and honor American culinary literature and her many other contributions to food history.

Dan Longone is Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan; Founder of the Ann Arbor Wine and Food Society; co-founder of the Wine and Food Library and the Longone Center and Archive; and a nationally sought-after lecturer on the cultural history of wine.

Archive highlights:

W.M.’s The Queen’s Closet Opened (1655)

Hannah Wooley’s Queen-Like Closet (1684), first English cookbook written by a woman

John Evelyn’s Acetaria (1699), first English book on salads

Edward Kidder’s Receipts of Pastry and Cookery (1720)

John Locke’s Observations upon ? Vines and Olives (1766)

Samuel and Sarah Adams’ The Complete Servant (1825)

The Cook’s Own Book (1832), first alphabetically arranged culinary encyclopedia in America

Eliza Leslie’s Directions for Cookery (1837), among the most popular cookbooks in 19th century America

First English translation of Brillat-Savarin’s The Physiology of Taste (1854)

Malinda Russell’s A Domestic Cook Book (1866), the first American Black-authored cookbook?a unique copy

The National Cookery Book ? Original Receipts for the Women’s Centennial Committees of the International Exhibition of 1876 . One of the first national cookbooks, written to answer the question of most foreign visitors to America’s Centennial Exhibition, “Have you no national dishes?”

Alexandre Dumas’ Grande Dictionnaire de Cuisine (1873)

The Texas Cook Book , Ladies Association of the First Presbyterian Church, Houston (1883). The first cookbook published in Texas.

The Landmarks Club Cook Book . Compiled by the Landmarks Club (incorporated to preserve the historic landmarks of Southern California), Los Angeles 1903

Irma Rombauer’s The Joy of Cooking (1931)

A unique collection of foreign-language or bi-lingual cookbooks printed in America for the immigrant community, covering about two-dozen languages.

A complete run of the Boston Cooking School/American Cookery Magazine (1896-1947) and Gourmet Magazine (1941-2004)

The center also contains a comprehensive selection of other wine and food journals and magazines.

These examples from “The National Cookery Book,” by the Women’s Centennial Committees of the International Exhibition of 1876, Philadelphia, demonstrate that there have been and continue to be”national dishes.”

Lowell Brown Bread

New England Brown Bread

Wisconsin Steamed Brown Bread

South Carolina Rice Johnny Cakes

Virginia Quinimies (a biscuit)

Seven Receipts from an Oneida Squaw (incl. Bear, mud turtle, muskrats, woodchuck)

Idaho Miner’s Bread

Oysters to Roast Along the Shore in Maryland

Short Cake in Camp. A Michigan Receipt

Florida Guava Preserve

A Kansas Poor Man’s Pudding, in Grasshopper Times

Rhode Island Slump

Delaware Terrapins

New Orleans Gumbo

Kentucky Blackberry Cordial

Mississippi Pomegranite Cordial

Canvass-Back Duck

Rhode Island Fish Chowder

New York Biscuit

Philadelphia Groundnut Cake

Lafayette Gingerbread

Succotash

Sassafras Beer

Sweet Potato Pone

Boston Whortleberry Cake

Kansas Cocoanut Pound Cake

Sweet Corn as prepared by the Indians

Scrapple

To Cook Trout, or Any Fish, Without Scales, When Fishing

Idaho Method of Cooking a Deer’s Head

Palo Alto Pudding

Clam Bakes

Boiled Turkey

To Preserve Fox Grapes