In 2014 I found my dream book - this edition of Mrs Beeton's Household Management.
There’s no definitive statement of when this particular edition was published. A previous owner has written her name and the year 1944, but certain things made me believe this was already a few years old when she got it – references to “The War,” and nothing written about rationing, for example. Based on dates I found in the “Legal Memoranda” section (god I love this book), my best guess is that it was published in 1938 or very early 1939.
I love flipping through this book from time to time to read about all that went into household management back when people made morning calls, managed servants, and served beef tea to sick people. I've also made a few recipes from this book - ones that didn't involve sheep's heads or jellied eels.
Photo © Me, 2020.