The afterlife of a 1950’s cookbook
In the past few months, I have grown so close to my 1950’s Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I have poured over its pages, inhaled its scents, and leafed through its tattered pages, all while consuming the messages hidden within. This cookbook has taken on an entirely new life in my hands than it probably ever knew was possible -if a book can know things. I wonder if, from its dusty position on a thrift store shelf, it felt neglected like a shelter dog, or if it knew all along it was destined for something more. This unique opportunity to adopt a pet book has been eye opening, frustrating, and mostly rewarding. Who knew you could learn so much from a vintage cookbook?
At first glance, the book is unassuming. In its life before, I imagine it lived happily in the kitchen of a young woman -maybe married, maybe not- who was just starting out. Maybe this woman was learning how to cook, or improving on her skills, or preparing to host. Or maybe this cookbook was solace, an escape from a life trapped as a housewife, destined to cook and clean and care for a husband and kids who never saw the weight of the invisible workload on her shoulders. Maybe the book was a gift, from one woman to another, meant as a help to ease the burden of a doled out life. Where ever it was, whom ever hands it was in, it was clearly used and loved. Evidence of this can be seen in the torn pages where attempts were made to mend it. Hole-punch reinforcers were gingerly placed around the binder-ring mangled holes, in an attempt to keep pages from being lost. And while a number of chapters are missing entirely, I can tell that many desperate attempts were made to keep it whole.
The owner of this book must have loved it, as they clearly spent time with the book, testing out recipes and making adjustments to them where they saw fit. There are recipes where measurements and directions are crossed out and rewritten in delicate script. New recipes have been paper clipped to pages, adding to the collection. The stains, questionable crusty remnants, and scent of the book reveals to me that it was used during the cooking process, maybe sitting on a counter next to a mixing bowl and ingredients. It was used.
I have spent a lot of this project discussing how this book reflects the misogyny of its time. I have dissected its images, read between the lines, and analyzed its hidden influence on women in the 1950s. Clearly it helped to perpetuate stigma and expectations for women, supporting the role of women belonging at home, in the kitchen and serving their families. But there is a small part of me that wonders if maybe this book also served as a tool to make women’s lives easier. Maybe it was created to help women with the roles dealt to them, to help keep their families happy, but also to alleviate the pressures of being a good cook, or a perfect hostess? And while I don’t fully agree with what is written in the book, I get the sense that its intentions are mostly positive. There is a world in which this book exists to simply improve the lives of women wanting to learn to cook, or who enjoy cooking. And perhaps, this book exists in a world where both are true.
In my hands, the hands of a modern woman, I have the ability to see both realities. I can look through a feminist lens and see how this book is both problematic and helpful. I can see a world of reclamation, of empowerment, where this book serves as both a warning and a tool for life improvement. It is both charming and tragic in its own right. In its new life, it has been purchased by my mother, whose love of cooking and history influenced her decision and empowered her to buy it. Even the act of a woman having the ability to buy, own and read a book is something that many do not have the luxury to do. Then, this book was passed on to me for this project, where I am using it to continue my education. Again, a luxury many women did not, and still do not have. It is helping me to be able to move beyond what was expected of a woman, and rise to what I desire as a woman. This book has seen many changes, and I can only imagine what it will continue to see in the future.
There is a part of me that wishes to use this book for art purposes in the future… but likely, I will return it to my mother who will place it back on her shelf with the rest of her vintage cook book collection. It will spend the rest of its time with us being viewed here and there, sharing its secrets and recipes until maybe some day I pass it on to my daughter. I fear that because the book is in such fragile shape it might not last that long, but I will work with my mom to preserve it as best I can. It is a treasure, and now I feel pretty deeply connected to it. And soon, I will take on the challenge of actually cooking a recipe from it!