Queen's Closet Opened
The Queen's Closet Opened is an anonymously written book originating from the kitchen of Henrietta Maria , the wife of King Charles I. It includes customs and recipes of the old aristocracy. Originally, it was published in 1655 after the execution of King Charles I and there are multiple editions. The recipe book was republished in 1656, 1658, 1659, 1661, 1662, 1663, 1668, 1671, 1674, 1679, 1683, 1684, 1696, 1698, 1710, 1713 and 1726 with edits and additions. The edition in the images is the 11th edition, published in 1710. It contains three parts: Part I: “The Pearl of Practice” (127 pages) , Part II: “A QUEEN’s Delight” (240 pages), Part III: “ The Compleat Cook:” (138 pages).
Background
Historical Context
The book was published in response to the scandalous exposure of The King's Cabinet Opened, which was published in 1645. [1]
Content
Author & Publisher
The author and editor of the book is thought to have been Walter Montagu the Queen’s long-time friend and courtier. [2] He is best known for his play The shepheards paradise . It was performed by Queen Henrietta Maria and a cast of courtier women in 1633. [3]
Physical Analysis
Substrate & Binding
The cover is made of thick cardboard wrapped with a thin leather layer. The book was definitely rebound, as the binding looks new and is made of leather. There are border designs on the cover imprinted into the leather and around the edges of the front and back covers. Possible burn stamps or black paint designs are on edges of the cover around flap and on all other edges. When carefully observed inside the front cover and back cover and all edges of the book you can see the black imprinted designs.
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Binding
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Bottom view
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Side view
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Inside front cover
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Inside back cover
Paratexts
There are a few sentences under the title of each of the three sections indicating what the book is about. There are different typefaces used in the title page, each of the lines have a different typeface or alternating typefaces. The size and typeface of the cover titles are different from the main text throughout the book.
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The first page
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Cover page of Part III: “The Compleat Cook:”
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Pg 12-13 of “The Pearl of Practice”
The book has a title page for each of the three parts and labeled page numbers. Each new section starts with new page numbers and all parts have a table of contents in the back to help the reader navigate specifics. Each new recipe has a heading/title that is included in the table of contents. The table of contents is also in alphabetical order. At the end of all of the recipes in each section FINIS. is written and at the end of the table of contents The END. is written.
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The Table of the Pearl of Practice
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The Table of the Queen’s Delight
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The Table of the Compleat Cook
Historical Significance
References
- ↑ L. Knoppers, “Opening the Queen’s Closet: Henrietta Maria, Elizabeth Cromwell, and the Politics of Cookery”, (Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 60, No. 2 (Summer 2007), pp. 464-499.
- ↑ K. Britland, “RECENT STUDIES OF THE LIFE AND CULTURAL INFLUENCE OF QUEEN HENRIETTA MARIA” (English Literary Renaissance, Vol. 45, No. 2 (Spring 2015), pp. 303-321)
- ↑ S. Poynting, “ Montagu, Walter” (Wiley Online Library (22 September 2017))