#preswk18

[aldenlibrary]

Preservation Week 2018: Epistolary  Culinary

This recipe for “hour hound” (horehound) candy was recorded in this civil war correspondence from Edwin to Almyra  Brown   . 

“Hour hound Candy, Boil the hourhound in as much water as will cover it, and tilt all the Juice is extracted. then strain it and give it another boil stirring in gradually sugar enough to make it very thick and stif. Afterwards sift sugar over a shallow tin pan, and fill it with the paste and leave it to congeal, any hard candy may be made as above.”

While the paper shows a major loss it is good quality and the ink has hardly faded. You can see from the deep creases that the recipe and letter remained folded for a very long time. While there was no interest in reducing the appearance of the creases we did want to store them unfolded to reduce wear and tear of folding and unfolding with use. Luckily these relaxed quite well on their own without humidification or weights.

All images: Letter from Edwin Brown to Almyra Brown, August 20, 1861 Ohio University Libraries. Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections Collection. Brown Family Collection (MSS 18)

​ More information about this letter and other Civil War correspondence held in the Ohio University Libraries Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections can be found HERE thanks to  Ohio University Libraries Digital Collections!

[aldenlibrary]

Preservation Week 2018: Fading Traditions

That’s a recipe for marble cake, 1/2 vanilla 1/2 molasses, clearly written by someone who already knows how to make a cake, but needs little more than to remember the ingredients. The Eclipse may have had many wonderful recipes, but so did the owner of this book and what better place to write down your recipes than a cookbook?

“Doughnuts 1 1/2 cup sugar 1 cups butter 1 1/2 cups sweet milk 3 eggs Pickel for Hams Make a brine strong enough to float an egg to each one hundred pounds of meat add 2 pounds of sugar and 2 cups of saltpeter” 

“Cream Pie One pint milk 2 large spoonful sugar 1 tablespoon flour yolk two eggs white 1 beat eggs sugar flour together let milk get boiling hot pour in beaten parts stir till hot make crust bake fill with custard heat the white of eggs stiff spread on top return to oven brown slightly __(?)”

Our challenge with this item is that the pencil is not only light but also prone to smudging and fading as people touch the pages. In addition we have clippings from newspapers and magazines that are acidic and attached with old and drying adhesive. Digitizing this book allows us to share its contents more widely while minimizing the risk of loosing the ephemeral aspects. We then have the opportunity to transcribe the hand written recipes to preserve that information even if legibility of the handwriting continues to deteriorate. 

We still want this volume to be available for use and that makes this book a perfect candidate for box with an integrated cradle. The box insures everything stays together even if a clipping becomes detached and the cradle minimizes the need to hold the book with fingers over the penciled recipes.

All images: "The eclipse", for Hotel and Home Cooking, Suitable for Rich and Poor by H.J. Hawhe, Ohio University Libraries Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections