Recipes for Successful Dining, Signed to George Cukor by Elsie de Wolfe
[Signed Presentation to George Cukor] Wolfe, Elsie de. Recipes for Successful Dining. First Edition. 1934. Book is in very good minus condition—covers show rubbing and very light staining. Book is warmly inscribed “George Cukor. Yesterday! Today!! Tomorrow!!! A friend! Elsie de Wolfe Mendl, Beverly Hills, March 3rd 1941.” Cukor’s famous Paul Landacre-designed bookplate is attached the front endpaper.
With the inscription to film director George Cukor and his bookplate, this is a one-of-a-kind copy of Elsie de Wolfe’s classic cookbook. The inscription dates to the World War II era when the indomitable decorator was a war refugee in California, taking Hollywood by storm and playing gin rummy with Cukor as her partner.
“It does not matter whether one paints a picture, writes a poem, or carves a statue, simplicity is the mark of a master-hand. Don’t run away with the idea that it is easy to cook simply. It requires long apprenticeship.”
--Elsie de Wolfe