1 volume. First edition 1867. 25 chromolithograph plates. 161 woodcut vignettes. "The work is considered one of the most important and most sought, though due to varied materials required in the recipes, more suited to large establishments than to the ordinary household [Cat.Nr.: Reg. 106 /15]." Publishers cloth cover with gilt title. Gilt title to spine. Coloured endpapers. [4], xi, 826 pages, [1]. Chromolithograph frontispiece with tissue-guard. 24 chromolithograph plates with tissue-guards. In-text woodcuts. Rare first edition of one of the most beautiful and esteemed gastronomy books of the nineteenth century, a true masterpiece by Gouffé. It is a collection of thousands of recipes, covering all types of dishes, from appetizers to pastries, which Gouffé himself expanded in his subsequent works ["Le livre de Parisserie", le livre des conserves", "le livre des Soupes et des Potages"]. Gouffé [Paris 1809-Neully sur Seine, 1877], a famous gastronome, began his career with his father in the pastry shop in Paris on the Rue Neuve St. Merri, then moved to the Austrian embassy as a pupil of Antonin Careme. He then settled in the Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré in 1840 and under the advice of Dumas, father of the Baron de Brisse, became "Chef de bouche" at the Jockey Club. He also earned the epithet of "Apotre de la cuisine décorative" and "Careme du Second Empire" and his gastronomic work, in the words of Weiss, "Eine Brucke von Careme zu Escoffier" [a bridge between Careme and Escoffier], [Bitting, 195 Vicarie, p. 417]. Shipped and insured [courier liability] by recorded delivery with UPS.