Great Cookbook Collections VI: Los Angeles Public Library

We hope that La Cocina Histórica inspires readers to visit the University of Texas in San Antonio. However, for those of you who live a little (or a lot) further away, we’ll also post occasional links to other great culinary collections.

Los Angeles Public Library houses one of the largest culinary collections in the U.S.. The collection consists of over 39,000 books in the general collection; over 500 rare books; and more than 1,000 cookbooks printed in California, including the first Spanish-language cookbook to be published in California: El Cocinero Español by Encarnación Pinedo. Additionally, the collection includes periodicals, menus, advertising ephemera, and photographs. Access to most items is available through the catalog; however many of the menus have been digitized and may be viewed online.

Since 1995, The Culinary Historians of Southern California, have supported the library’s collection and provided public programming. Those of you in the Los Angeles area may want to take note of their free monthly forums, including an October 8th lecture on the history of the quince and an overview of cuisine in 18th and 19th century England on November 12th.