On November 26, just after you recover from your Thanksgiving food coma and are ready to enter the kitchen again, a new cookbook store will open in Brooklyn. 

The bookstore Cooking, Cocktails, & Culture will be located in Cobble Hill at 212 Degraw Street. However, this is not your ordinary cookbook store because the owner, Elizabeth Young, has a background in selling rare books.

Young plans to carry rare editions of cookbooks, such as The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse (first published in 1747). According to Grub Street, the store will also carry newer books, culinary-themed sheet music, contemporary zines, old menus, and more. In an interview with Fine Books & Collections, Young describes why she loves working with old cooking texts.

“Some of the most rewarding experiences I have had working with rare books is when I come across an unusual culinary manuscript. These handwritten notebooks and ledgers tell a personal story – when you put together the scraps of paper and ephemera that are pasted, pinned, and stuck in between recipes and remedies, you find a personal narrative that gives you a glimpse into a kitchen from the past.”

In short, all of us at Melville House are happy to welcome Cooking, Cocktails, & Culture to our Brooklyn bookstore community.