Ageless Beauty

Thank you for your article on old cookbooks (“In Praise of Old Cookbooks,” March 1). I have one from the 1910s in Montana that was my grandmother’s and have enjoyed the terms in the recipes such as “a lump of butter the size of an egg.” Many of the volume measurements relate to household vessels and not to formal measuring cups. They are an interesting window on the past.

GLENN JOHNSON

Via e-mail

Enjoyed your article on old cookbooks. Since I started collecting cookbooks in the early ‘60s, I have a lot of church books.

On church books, we all know a woman will not put her name on any recipe that isn’t really good.

JUNE PIERCE

Desert Hot Springs

I am a senior in college, and your article brought me back to my elementary school days. The teachers asked us to bring in our family recipes to make a school cookbook. The final product was amazing! Everyone’s mother and grandmothers submitted recipes as well as commentary. My mom still uses this cookbook. It is great to see other people appreciating these works of art.

JENNIFER MAHONEY

Emeryville

Loved the old cookbooks article. I have a huge collection. One of my favorites is from Ohio about the time of the Civil War. Although it is called “Buckeye Cookery,” it is a complete handbook of what a woman would need to go out into the wilderness. It covers everything. One part concerns housekeeping. It admonishes women not to make their beds without airing them properly. The tone of the writer is dear. She says, “A woman who would make her bed upon arising is the sort of woman who would wear a white glove to hide a dirty hand.” Don’t you love it?

NANCYANNE DUBOST

Paso Robles