Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking Cookbook Review - Collectibility

Photo: Mastering the Art of French Cooking Cover (dust jacket not shown)

Cookbook Title: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Authors: Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck

Copyright: 1961, First Edition

Format: Hardcover with dust jacket

Specialization Category: Vintage Cookbooks, French Cookbooks, Classic Cookbooks

Average Price: $10 -$15 (Signed by Julia Child $200 - $250)

Noted Recipes: Steamed Mussels, Pear Baked with Macaroons, Braised Artichokes, Ratatouille

COOKBOOK COLLECTIBILITY RATINGS RATINGS EXPLAINED

Availability: 7.0

Popularity: 8.0

Investment Outlook: 8.0

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Final Collectibility Factor: 7.67

No cookbook collecting site can omit this wonderfully popular French cookbook by Julia Child. There are two volumes of this cookbook but they are not a set. The second volume is a sequel to the first. This article covers the first volume or Volume 1.

This book can often be found with or without the dust jacket--though it comes with a dust jacket. A missing jacket does not seem to impact the value of the book as it often does with other books. In fact, in many cases, the book is more recognizable without the cover and sometimes fetches a higher price without. This book has several editions so look for a First Printing for a true collectible. 1966 are always later editions. The 1961 books show the number of the printing and are the original year the book was published. A signed book is a collector's dream and one of the highest valued cookbooks you can get besides an antique cookbook. Julia Child is one of the most recognizable names of all time in cooking. The signed copies of this are very hard to find. I was lucky to have one at a point in time. It sold for over the $200 mark though I can't remember the final price.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking Cookbook Availability Rating - 7.0

This book is easily found on online sites and used book stores alike. The book was reprinted many times over so it is harder to find the First Printing, though those are fairly easy to find as well. At any given time usually a couple dozen of these books are available on all the major book selling sites and at least one copy can be located in a used book shop if you are lucky and can get it for a fair price.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking Cookbook Popularity Rating - 8.0

All of Julia Child's books are quite popular, though this classic is her most popular to date. The book is the equivalent of Betty Crocker's Cookbook in that it is something almost every chef has in their collection of culinary books.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking Cookbook Investment Outlook - 8.0

This book fluctuates a lot in price dependent upon condition and the printing number. Get a first printing if you are buying it to collect vs. cook. If interested mainly just in the recipes, than any printing will do. The book is a great investment as are most of the cookbooks I would put in a "Classics" category. The book will likely not double in value anytime soon so the trick is getting a good price online and a good condition book. Again, in this case a dust jacket will likely not impact value very much--maybe by a dollar or two.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking Cookbook Final Collectibility Factor Rating - 7.67

Don't forget to add this to your collection. A serious collector will definitely want to own all the classics and this is as good as the classics get, next to Joy of Cooking and the Betty Crocker's Picture Cookooks. The book tends to sell for upwards of $15. If you can get both the first and second volumes, the individual values are higher than if only one is owned. I've seen the sets go for $20 per book vs. the $15.