On a recent visit to Portland, Maine, a friend of mine was adamant that I check out Rabelais Books, a bookstore dedicated to food and cooking. She told me they had a great collection of vintage books and a broader range than you’d expect.
 

Sure enough, the diversity of subjects and variations in designs rendered the place thoroughly entertaining for design aficionados and inspiring for even for the amateur cook. On a previous post we wrote about how, as our consciousness regarding food is changing, so is the quality of our food, its sources, and collateral (books). Seeing this great collection under one roof seems to validate that theory, especially at a time when all bookstores are struggling to stay open.
 

I love the juxtaposition above of vintage gardening books and food-themed magazines, like San Francisco’s own Meat Paper.
 

The vintage books are not only fun to flip through for their design, but their archaic language can be pretty funny, like this World Famous Chef’s Cookbook: Rare Old Recipes for the Homemaker.
 

The photo above of the vintage book about pork was actually taken at Omnivore Books, San Francisco’s version of Portland’s Rabelais. Omnivore Books also has an amazing collection of vintage cookbooks and food-related gems from gardening to Carving and Serving. I can only hope that the appearance of these two fun bookstores is an indication of a greater trend (and that books are here to stay).
 
Suzanne LaGasa
Designer

Popularity: 2% [?]

Email This Post | Permalink | Trackbacks (0)