Old Waldorf Bar Days. With the Cognomina and Composition of Four Hundred and Ninety-one Appealing Appetizers and Salutary Potations Long Known, Admired and Served at the Famous Big Brass Rail; also A Glossary for the Use of Antiquarians and Students of American Mores.

CROCKETT, Albert Stevens (1873-1965), [BUDD, Leighton, illustrator].

New York, NY: Aventine Press, 1931. [Cocktails] INSCRIBED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.[8] 242 [6]. INSCRIBED by Oscar Tschirky (1866-1950), Head Waiter at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, in black ink to flyleaf: 'To | Judge Byron K. Elliot | with best wishes | from Oscar | of the Waldorf | Dec 23 | 1932.' With occasional vignette illustrations by Budd. Publisher's silver cloth with black titles to spine and upper. Light browning to edges and margins, with a gentle tobacco scent. Light rubbing and bumping to cloth. Very good. A notable rival to Craddock's definitive 'Savoy Cocktail Book', with many recipes for classic American cocktails, as well as preliminary chapters on the history of drinking and society at the famous Waldorf Bar. Oscar Tschirky was one of the best-known characters at the Waldorf Hotel, and is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the Waldorf Salad (of 'Fawlty Towers' fame). His name is also associated with several other classic New York foods, including Thousand Island Dressing and Eggs Benedict, and he successfully published a cook book, despite never having worked as a chef at the Hotel. The dedicatee, Judge Byron K. Elliot (1870-1962), was a notable resident of Hagerstown, Indiana. Item #56210

Price: £1,350.00