[Rarebooks] fs: Death in the Pot

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

Accum, Frederick.  DEATH IN THE POT. A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, 
and Culinary Poisons, and Methods of Detecting Them.

London; Milner and Company: no date (1860s).

A very curious and rare Victorian edition of this important treatise, first 
published in 1820 as "A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary 
Poisons, exhibiting the Fraudulent Sophistications of Bread, Beer, Wine, 
Spiritous Liquors, Tea, Coffee, Cream, Confectionery, Vinegar, Mustard, 
Pepper, Cheese, Olive Oil, Pickles, and other Articles Employed in Domestic 
Economy, and Methods of Detecting Them".

The phrase "Death in the Pot" came from the title page of the original 
edition, which featured a vignette showing a snake coiling around a pot 
with that legend.

Things were not better in the good old days.  Frederick Christian Accum 
(1769-1838) was a man with a curiosity for many things, and wrote several 
important books on gas lighting and food chemistry.  This pioneering 
treatise on the subject of dangerous foods pointed out lead in wine, alum 
in bread, counterfeit coffee, carbonate of copper in tea, "lengtheners" in 
brandy, and all sorts of strange things in the beer.

In this same year Accum also published his 'Treatise on the Art of 
Brewing... and A Treatise on the Art of Making Wine from Native 
Fruits...'.  In 1821 he continued with his natural foods theme and write 
'Culinary Chemistry, Exhibiting the Scientific Principles of Cookery, with 
concise instructions for preparing good and wholesome pickles, vinegar, 
conserves (etc)...'.

Although other chemists and doctors were also trying to alert the public to 
the problem of food adulteration at this time, Accum's informal, some would 
say sensationalistic, style made his book the principal shout in the 
darkness in the early 19th century.  The other thing people found 
fascinating about Accum's book was that he actually named the names of 
adulterating merchants and importers, taken directly from court records.

This did not make him universally popular -in the preface to the 2nd London 
edition he notes "To those who have chosen anonymously to transmit to me 
their opinion concerning this book, together with their maledictions, I 
have little to say; but they may rest assured, that their menaces will in 
no way prevent me from endeavoring to put the unwary on their guard against 
the frauds of dishonest men..." and he goes on to promise that he will 
continue to name names.

The book made him many enemies, and within a year he was implicated in the 
theft of leaves from books in the library of the Royal Institution and was 
forced to leave England, depressed and disgraced, and return to his native 
Germany. This later imprint is as scarce as it is diminutive- OLCL records 
but a single copy.

Hardcover. 3.25"x5", 288 pages; blue cloth, as issued; covers with light 
soil and rubbing; front inner hinge cracked and a bit tender. $375.00

The covers-
<http://www.joslinhall.com/images03/th-06122.jpg">


JOSLIN HALL RARE BOOKS, ABAA
Fine books of the 16th-20th centuries
on the decorative and fine arts & design

Post Office Box 516, Concord, Massachusetts 01742 USA
telephone (617) 492-5367

--> Subscribe to our free email News List and get special
      discounts and offers on selected books!
<http://joslinhall.com/mailman/listinfo/jhrbnews_joslinhall.com>

--> Our full-service website features 86 separate subject
      categories, and has full search capabilities.
<http://www.joslinhall.com>

--> Visit our new BARGAIN BIN pages for a selection
      of good, inexpensive books for your bookshelf!
<http://www.joslinhall.com/special-1.htm>

  ~~

TERMS:
All payments must be in U.S. funds and negotiable through a U.S. bank; We 
accept checks, money orders, American Express, Visa and Mastercard. Books 
may be reserved pending payment; Institutions may be billed; Standard 
courtesies to institutions and the trade; Postage charges are $5.00 for the 
first book, and $1.50 for each additional book. Shipments outside the U.S. 
will be billed at cost. We accept returns if we are notified within ten 
days of your receipt of the books-please ask for full instructions and 
terms. Massachusetts residents must add 5% state sales tax.

As members of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America we are 
committed to upholding high professional standards and making sure your 
bookbuying experience is enjoyable.