The Gentleman's Companion Volumes I & II

New York: Crown Publishers, 1946. Hardcover. Red cloth covered boards, Near fine, in good slip case. The author and bon vivant, Charles H. Baker (1895-1987), takes us on a gastronomic world tour, combining spirited tales, told with recipes for exotic drinks and dishes. Baker often called the "Town & Country Gourmet" was regarded as knowledgeable in all matters of the good life and by Conde Nast as "a Gilded Age bon vivant who almost singlehandedly imported 'exotic' foreign drinks onto menus across the United States". Writing for such magazines as Esquire and Gourmet, Baker was able to explore, record, and taste his way through many continents.

Volume I - BEING AND EXOTIC COOKERY BOOK OR, AROUND THE WORLD WITH KNIFE, FORK, AND SPOON. 220 pages. 24 x 16 cm. INCLUDING: A Company of Hand-Picked Reciepts, each one Beloved & Notable in its Place, collected faithfully on Three Voyages & a Quarter Million Miles around the World, & Other Journeys. NOT FORGETTING: Certain Valuable Words to the Wise, Gleaned from Divers Chefs in Many & Strange Places; & the Home Formulae for Construction of such Intriguing Exotics as Hell-Fire Bitters, Key West Old Lime Sour, Herb Vinegar's; to Say Nothing of Various Strange and Delicious Sauces & Bastings for Fish, Flesh, Fowl, & the Wilder Games.
Volume II - BEING AN EXOTIC DRINKING BOOK OR, AROUND THE WORLD WITH JIGGER, BEAKER AND FLASK. 217 pages. 24.5 x 16.5 cm. INCLUDING: A personally collected Regiment of World-Famous Lively Liquid masterpieces from Greater & Lesser Port of Orient & Occident, & the South Seas. NOT FORGETTING: The proper & Civilized Service of Beverages with Foods, together with Proven Formulae for Home Construction of Certain Bitters, Wines, Meads & Cordials; a Meaty Kernal of Advice for Those Departing for the Bars, & in the Last a Sextet of Temperance Delights, & a Platoon of Picker-Uppers of Proven Worth & Discretion. Crisp, clean copy. (Inventory #: 4504)