Margo's Kitchen

When my mother-in-law Carole passed away, one of the items I received from her estate was her beloved copy of the 1856 Godey’s Lady’s Book and Magazine. It contains volume 52 from January to June of 1856. The book still had its cover, but it was completely separated from the pages. The cover is a nondescript, olive green that wouldn’t draw anyone’s eye to it.

Nowadays, book covers are used to persuade us to purchase the book due to the emotions the cover elicits within us or because the cover inspires hope that the book will solve a problem we have. This 1856 book makes no attempt at drawing the reader in.

However, in the past, any woman picking up this book, or one of the contributing Magazines, knew exactly what she was about to experience. What should a woman’s life be like? What could a woman’s life be like? How could she learn or improve her skills such as embroidery, lace making, or beading? What were the most recent cooking methods and receipts? This book intended to answer and guide women along the path to middle and upper-middle class life.

Topics such as how tea is made, how to be happy, girls and swimming, chemistry for the young, fashionable colors for gloves, and home truths for home peace offered women advice on nearly every aspect of their sphere of influence in the home and community.

The publication also provided an outlet for women authors to publish stories and poems such as Thoughts at Sunset, Winter Nights, and Getting up a Club in Borrowdale. These writings not only increased the female voice in print, but they also connected women both within their communities and across land and time.

Purchasing the Magazine was an expense that needed to be justified within many families. The Magazine itself encouraged women to create “clubs” whereby one subscriber would share her copy of the Magazine with her neighbors for a fee. This would allow each woman to learn from and enjoy the Magazine without having paid the full price.

The pages of my mother-in-law’s copy are worn, with some pages torn due to the removal of a pattern or recipe. We don’t know where she got the book, but my husband said that she loved the book and used it often. I intend to read and learn from it. Just like previous readers, this book will connect me to women over space and time, including my mother-in-law.  I’ll be cooking many of the recipes from this book on this blog, most with a modern adaptation. I hope you experiment with me and enjoy learning about 1856 women’s culture and recipes with me and your favorite people!