Exhibit
Explores Centures of Culinary Curiosities
Six recipes for puff pastry
from 1669 to 1970. Eating
ice cream in France in the late 19th century. Dining with
gladiatorial entertainment.
The Cat's Festival, ca. 1808, one of three
watercolors in the Mortimer Rare Book Room attributed
to William Mulready (1786-1863), and Irish-born painter
known for his scenes of rural life and illustrations
for books. |
These are just three of the
offerings in Cabinet of Culinary Curiosities:
Books & Manuscripts from
the Mortimer Rare Book Room, an exhibition on display
in the Morgan Gallery (first floor) and the Books Arts Gallery
(third floor, near the Rare Book Room) through January 20,
2011.
Other items featured:
a tribute to Julia Child and her fellow Smith College classmate,
cooking teacher, and writer, Charlotte Turgeon; Jack Sprat
and the space race; cooking and dining for kings, queens,
and mice; and French opinions about Chinese food and table
manners.
This array of more than fifty culinary curiosities from books
and manuscripts features images and descriptions of food
and eating from the 16th through the 21st centuries.
A cabinet
of curiosities is a private collection of esoterica from
the realms of natural history, geology, archaeology, religious
relics, artwork, and antiquity. The classic style of these
cabinets emerged in the 16th century as one or more rooms
overflowing with fascinating objects.
Cabinet
of Culinary Curiosities was created as a component of
, a series
of exhibitions and events organized for fall 2010
by , a group of museum and historical sites here
in the Pioneer Valley.
Most of the items in the exhibition
are from the Mortimer Rare Book Room; a few gems have been
borrowed from the Smith College Archives and the curator’s
own culinary collection. For more information on Cabinet
of Culinary Curiosities, contact ,
Mortimer Rare Book Room.
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