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Cookbooks Make Profitable Collectables
Favorite old cookbooks have always been treasured by their owners, but some of those books in your kitchen cabinet may be worth more than you'd think. That's because television food networks and websites have raised interest in cookbooks as collectibles.
  Booksellers Patricia "Eddie" Edwards and her husband, Peter Peckham, recognized the increasing interest in cookbooks and started to specialize in them. Their internet store, www.oldcookbooks.com, debuted in 2003. More recently they opened a store in Reno, Nevada, with more than 15,000 out-of-print, vintage cookbooks and recipe booklets. In 2008 they published "Antique Trader Collectible Cookbooks Price Guide," which lists approximate cookbook values.
  Setting value is difficult, Edwards says. Condition, rarity and demand all play a part. Many of their books sell for $20 or less, but rare, mint condition books can go for hundreds of dollars. She recalls how a New York Times article mentioned the book, "Pillsbury Best 1,000 Recipes." A burst of demand made copies hard to find, and prices skyrocketed.
  While Oldcookbooks.com has scouts buying rare and unusual books throughout the U.S. and overseas, the day-to-day business is often about selling books with sentimental value.
  "Every year around the holidays, one lady contacts me asking for a cookbook with a particular recipe," Edwards says. "It's a time of year when people's memories of food are forefront."
  Many customers want to replace books lost in natural disasters or through divorce or inheritance battles. The booksellers never know what will be in demand.
  "Everything from our most popular old cookbook (Woman's Home Companion Cook Book) to inexpensive old budget cookbooks (like the Sunset Ground Beef Cookbook) can have runs of popularity," Edwards says.
  Edwards, a graphic artist who admits that she isn't much of a cook, was attracted to cookbooks because of their graphic designs and also because she likes to read them. "My mom liked to read cookbooks like novels," Edwards says. Some of the oldest books offer historical insights to the times.
  "For example, æA Year's Cookery' shows the life of a woman in the late 1880's," she explains. "It lists what they had to do the day before, like scrape hair from pig's feet. It's a good look at how complex food preparation was."
  OldCookbooks.com carries everything from wartime "Victory Meal" booklets, to the odd, "The Vampire Cookbook" to beloved classics from Betty Crocker, Pillsbury and Good Housekeeping. The store also carries regional and charity cookbooks, put together by church groups and organizations, which often have favorite recipes people want.
  Edwards says they do not buy books from individuals long distance, but people interested in selling books should go to local used booksellers and antique dealers or the Internet.
  Do some research, she suggests, to find out what interests collectors. The OldCookbooks.com site may be helpful in finding out retail prices.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Eddie Edwards, Antiques & Treasure, Bldg. 151 N. Sierra St., Reno, Nevada 89501 (ph 866 282-2144; www.old cookbooks.com).


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2009 - Volume #33, Issue #1