COOKERY. – Irma S. ROMBAUER. The Joy of Cooking. A Compilation of Reliable Recipes with a Casual Culinary Chat. New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1936. First trade edition, 8vo (230 x 152mm.) Illustrations by Marion Rombauer Becker, ‘Index’. (Toning.) Original blue and white plaid cloth (wear to spine ends, hinges weakened). Note: possibly the most successful American Cookbook. Rombauer originally published the book privately in 1931, a year after the suicide of her husband. Edgar Rombauer took his life three months after the stock market crash tiggered the Great Depression. Although not known as an especially good cook, Irma decided to support herself by writing a cookbook. It wasn’t so much the recipes that proved so winning but rather the ‘casual culinary chat’ of the title that buyers responded to. Her text is peppered with stories about herself, her family, and friendly advice. It sold over 18 million copies. Provenance: Berta Trywick(?) (ink name to front-free endpaper, dated 1938).