Tuesday, April 26, 2011

1914: Opera singers cook too!

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Original at Shorpy.com

This is Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Margarete Ober, with a rib roast. I like rib roast, especially if it has got Yorkshire pudding with it. Her apron looks super effective.

12 comments:

GStaples said...

Looks like a super small kitchen. I wonder if it was an apartment or if she was single? Maybe there was a dinning room? Pretty cool! Love the older cookbooks. Was wondering how many do you have and how you started your collection?

Recycled Cottage & Garden said...

I want her sink!

Jana said...

Well, it IS New York. This is a reason I do not want to live there! ;) After a quick count, I've currently got 52 vintage cookbooks in my personal collection. A goodly number of those are booklets, though.

Some cookbooks are on loan from my mom, some are handed down from my grandma (who was a Home Ec. major in college in the 40's) a few are from thrift stores, and a few were gifts. And, you know, sometimes I filch some when time traveling. :D Recipes from the 40's to the present are usually from my personal collection, and things from before that are usually from online sources, as they are out of copyright.

Jana said...

And her sink IS wicked awesome. You could fit so many dishes in there before having to do the dishes...

Crescent Moon said...

Actually, my kitchen is about that small (University, married student housing). What is that thing she's using as a counter (with the plates and gravy boat sitting on it)?

Jana said...

Maybe it is a counter? Or a table? Or... a flour bin?

My Mom's Recipe Box said...

Jana, thanks for answering my questions. I am going out this year to garage and estate sales to find older cookbooks. Love them, mostly I love the stories in them! Did find one with hand-written recipes in them, 1939, re-printed in 1949.

Jana said...

You're welcome! That cookbook sounds neat!

Nonna said...

I also want her sink...big enough for any job, including bathing babies ( and grandbabies )

Jana said...

Are you kidding? You could bathe at least a half-dozen grandbabies in that sucker!

South Bay Ladies' Tea Guild said...

You know, I think that thing she's using for a counter is her laundry tubs with a board across the top! I saw a picture of the servant's quarters in a big house, as it would have been in the early 1900s and the laundry tubs were a single molded item instead of separate tubs, just like that. The slanted sides could have a built-in washboard or some kind of shelf to rest your washboard on when scrubbing. And it would make sense to have the laundry right by the sink, keeping the water and drain nearby.

Jana said...

Could be! How handy.