Cookery Collection - African American
There are over 120 African American cookbooks in the collection
dating from the early 19th century to the present. A 2nd edition
of Robert Roberts, The House Servant's Directory (1828), the
first cookbook written by a Black American and first book on any
subject written by a Black American to have been printed by a
commercial publisher, distinguishes the collection. Additionally
there are charity cookbooks, Black dialect items, and celebrity
cookbooks. The collection is complemented by strong holdings in
Caribbean cookery and African cookery. Together these cookbooks
provide a researcher with opportunities to study the major
contributions of African food habits and traditions to the New
World.
Special Collections Division
Michigan State University Libraries
.