Arnault de Nobleville - [Gastronomie] Le manuel des dames de charité - 1765

[ARNAULT DE NOBLEVILLE, LOUIS-DANIEL].
The Manual of the Ladies of Charity, or Easy-to-Prepare Medicines formulas... Fifth Edition, Revised, corrected, & augmented. Paris: At Debure the elder, 1765.

In-12. Bound in contemporary marbled calf, spine with raised bands divided into gilt compartments with tooled devices and corner fleurons, title piece in cognac morocco. Contemporary binding well preserved despite minor rubbing to the joints and corners; spine with luminous gilt compartments and its original title piece. Interior in fine freshness, clear typography on period paper. A central gap / tear on the frontispiece leaf affects the visage of the main character in the engraving.

The work opens with a famous and elegant frontispiece engraved by Jean-Baptiste Tilliard after the design of Thomas-Aignan Desfriches (credit: Deffriches Del. / J.B. Tilliard sculp.), showing a lady of charity receiving bloodletting and distributing remedies within an apothecary surrounded by labeled pharmacy pots (Rubarba, Séné, Guyac...).

Edition revised and considerably augmented of this precious XVIIIth-century medical manual written anonymously by the Orléans-born physician Louis-Daniel Arnault de Nobleville. Aimed at aristocrats and ladies of high society devoted to relieving the poor, the work gathers popular remedies, accessible pharmaceutical recipes, and precautions for use to combat rural epidemics and common diseases.

A direct bridge with popular gastronomy and dietetics: Beyond its medical and bibliophilic interest, this work constitutes a precious testimony for the history of popular and nourishing gastronomy:
The rise of soups and “restaurant broths”: At a time when food was the foremost remedy, the book details numerous recipes for consommé broths (beef, veal, poultry) and health teas. These highly protein-rich preparations intended to “restore” the strength of the sick are the direct ancestor of the modern restaurant concept.
Kitchen from the kitchen garden as pharmacopoeia: The work promotes a simple, accessible cuisine using everyday condiments and vegetables (garlic, onion, fennel, mint, barley, oats, honey, fruits) prepared with domestic kitchen utensils.

The Manual of the Ladies of Charity achieved phenomenal library销售 across the entire eighteenth century. A small, flavorful anecdote for enthusiasts lies in its illustration: the Orléanais designer Thomas-Aignan Desfriches (a close friend of the author) faithfully immortalized in this frontispiece the pharmacy of the famous Charitable House of Orléans!