I have been collecting culinary ephemera for some years now, so when my daughter spotted this in the book store, she said “I probably shouldn’t tell you, but...”. Yes, she knew I would absolutely have to get this book, not only because of the topic but also because I am a big fan of WWW. The fact that I managed to hold off for a few weeks was more of a testimony to my financial worries than an indication of self-restraint.

Thus far, I have not absorbed a lot of the prose. That, too, is not because of will power; rather, it is because this book is just so fantastic that I am saving its reading as a special treat—maybe as a reward for right after I move. I have, however, looked at all 352 of the (numbered) illustrations.

What struck me first about the ephemera that is shown in the book was the fact that our collections seem to have so little overlap. I don’t know why this would surprise me though, since a) there must be an almost endless amount of very old and antique culinary ephemera (the main issue being one of its survival); b) this volume’s illustrations would consist of items that fit in with the prose; c) Weaver includes areas that I have not ventured into (e.g., matchbook covers); and d) the items depicted represent only a fraction of the author’s holdings.

This lavishly illustrated volume will be of extreme interest to anyone with an interest in culinary ephemera. It may also spur folks to expand their collections into categories that they have net yet explored.

Finally someone respected shines light on this neglected area of culinary history. Humdinger! ( )