Gingerbread House, 1847
From The Royal Book of Pastry and Confectionery by palace chef Jules Gouffe. Chromolithograph from British edition. London, Sampson Low, Marston, Low and Searle, 1874. Unframed.
As described by Ursus Books and Prints
So I am musing over where to start, where to place my oar for the Holiday extravaganza of Illustration that begins December 1. I mentioned Kawaii, and I am still thinking of that or at least aspects of it (some of the content and some of the palette), but I ran across this book yesterday that has turned that idea a bit. I was perusing One Kings Lane during my early morning free research time and was enchanted by an illustration/ a book plate of a very over the top Victorian Gingerbread House that they were selling. I trolled down the page to find the accreditation, and immediately googled that book and Mr. Jules Gouffe to end up on Google Play and Google Books. There in a wink and a blink, I had a full library of these gems (in PDF format) ready to read, devour and be inspired by. Another Rip Van Winkle moment. I can have a full library experience, find the books that I want immediately, and not have to get out of my comfy bed to acquire this wonderful stuff.
Here is the small Gouffe library I downloaded from Google Books to share with all y'all.
• The Royal Cookery Book
• The Royal Book of Pastry and Confection
• The Book of Preserves
I owe you the book of soups, which, thanks to Jules Gouffe's smart and well educated brother Alphonse, they are beautifully translated and workable even now. In the case of pastry, we might have to search to find sugar in cones and to get a hair sieve...but all else is pretty much the same. Imagine...soup!
So Jules Gouffe is a decorative chef (no kidding). Even his meats and seafood are whimseys of symetrical insanity. He continues to inspire today. He wrote these books which are , more than amazing illustrations, wonderful poetry to time spent on craft, on skill and the magic that happens when they both come together with extrordinary materials. I bow to him and all that he teaches...and so, I think this holiday shot has shifted to lead with decorative food (a visual feast?) and see where it goes. I am not saying that skulls, and eyeballs, mushrooms, unicorns, rainbows and birds may not have role here, but they will not be the lead ideas in this body of work. I am still unfocused, but it is all good...and given a fun palette, it should be a 25 day celebration!
Jules Gouffe, 1879, Buisson de Homard- Ecrevisses. An explosion of lobsters and crayfish (not an exact translation by any means).