The introductory texts reproduced here were written by the original Feeding America team to contextualize the books that were selected for inclusion as part of the 2001 digitization project.
The Grocer's Encyclopedia
By Artemas Ward
New York, 1911.
What a marvelous treasure trove this volume is. It is vital to any understanding of the food products available in America in the opening years of the 20th century. For an earlier period, shortly after the Civil War, see De Voe, Market Assistant 1867. This latter as well as the book herein described offer some of the best insights into large, commercial markets in America and the foodstuffs to be found therein.
This volume covers more than 1200 topics, literally A (Abalone, a shellfish from the Pacific Coast now growing in favor) to Z (Zwetschenwasser, a German liqueur).
There are 80 full-page plates in color, with 449 illustrations in all. There are 12 pages on cheese, 20 on wine, 7 on oysters, 16 on tea. There is information on Jewish Kosher laws (for those who have Hebrew customers), on new meats such a Kangaroo Tails, discussions of Cold Storage, Adilteration, Labels, Guilkds - everrything to help the American grocer better serve his customers. The Appendix, of 39 pages, contains a list of more than 500 words used to describe foods, drinks, etc., with their equivalents in French, German, Italian and Swedish.
One could very profitably spend many, many hours examining this volume.
