Some of the oldest items in the Schlesinger's collections are culinary materials. Our oldest cookbooks are from Europe at the beginning of the 17th century--although the Schlesinger is largely focused on collecting materials on American women's history, our earliest culinary materials predate the establishment of the United States and represent the foundations of European cookery. The bulk of our cookbook collection is firmly American, however, with volumes on all types of regional and ethnic foodways. The list below introduces some highlights from the thousands of cookbooks held by the Library. For instructions on how to search the broader collection, see the Research Tips tab of this guide.

Cookbooks to Treasure: Culinary Rarities from the Schlesinger Library, an exhibition of some of the notable items from Schlesinger's historic cookbook collection, was on display at the Library from December 2015 to February 2016. More details about that exhibit can be found on the Cookbooks to Treasure exhibit guide.