The Savoy Cocktail Book, Art Deco Masterpiece from 1936
Craddock, Harry. The Savoy Cocktail Book. New and Enlarged Edition. 1936. Book is in very good condition; dust jacket is in very good minus condition—jacket shows a repaired tear to the front cover, minor chipping to the upper and lower spine, and minor fraying. All in all, it’s an exceptionally well-preserved copy of this art deco masterpiece. Decorations by Gilbert Rumbold.
This book is an example of the law of unintended consequences. For its publication, we have the puritans who pushed through Prohibition to thank. Though born in Gloucestershire, Harry Craddock, this book’s author, had immigrated to the United States and might never have returned to the UK had not America made his professional illegal. After passage of the 18th Amendment, he returned to the UK and became one of the most famous bartenders of his era working at the uber-glam American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London. This cocktail book of seven hundred fifty recipes followed. First released in 1930, it became the gold standard of cocktail books. This new and enlarged edition first published in 1933 contains additional recipes and an updated the cover design, switching out the austere silver for a festive red, green, and yellow-based design.
“If everyone knew even a little about the absorbing subject of absorbing alcohol there would be even less Prohibition in the United States than there is now.”
--Harry Craddock
