Looking for a little culinary inspiration? The DeGolyer Library Cookbook Collection features dozens of cookbooks and recipes available to browse in our digital library.
If you’re fluent in Spanish and able to read cursive, take a look at Resetas de guisos particulares para el uso de Doña Maria Josefa de la Luz Tapia, written in 1816. This recipe collection is one of the most treasured holdings in the DeGolyer Library and an invaluable source for researchers interested in Mexican history and women’s studies. For a glimpse into the history of Texas cooking, check out The Lone Star Cook Book, the first cookbook published in Dallas. A highlight from our African American cookbook collection is Good Things to Eat, as Suggested by Rufus, a 1911 cookbook written by Rufus Estes, a formerly enslaved Black man who worked as a luxury chef for the Pullman Company and numerous restaurants and high-end passenger ships. If you’re interested in learning about the origin of modern cookbooks, check out The London Art of Cookery, and Housekeeper’s Complete Assistant, a 1787 household guide written for servants and housekeepers that features medical advice and household management information alongside culinary recipes.
The DeGolyer Library’s Cookbook Collection is still growing! SMU Libraries has received a TexTreasures Grant from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to digitize and make available historic Texas cookbooks. We’re looking forward to sharing the unique culinary history of Texas, just in time for the debut of the state’s first Michelin Guide!