Fuchs, Jean (b. 1809; fl. circa 1830)
Handwritten Pastry Recipe Book and Passport. Honnef, Germany, 1831.Octavo format manuscript in loose sections entitled Conditorei Buch pro Jean Fuchs, with text in German, French, Italian and English, containing a plethora of recipes; consisting of approximately 150 pages containing recipes for nougat, brioche, vinegar, conserves, streusel, absinthe, punch, bonbons, liqueur, and much more; including a short German to English glossary of culinary terms, and signs of use and wear, disbound, 6 1/2 x 4 in.[Together with] Fuchs's passport, 1829, lacking the first page, consisting of sixty-four pages bearing stamps and inscriptions documenting Fuchs's travels circa 1833-1841, including stops in Bohemia, Austria, many cities in Germany, including Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Coblenz, Munster, and many others, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Paris, Marseille, Naples, Rome, Modena, Parma, Torino, Venice, Milan, and more; in total more than 100 stamps from different locations, in a very worn binding, 6 1/4 x 4 1/2 in. (2)This tantalizing material documents the culinary life of a hitherto unknown figure. The recipes are interesting on their own, when combined with the much-used passport, one can't help but wonder what the life of an intrepid European pastry chef was like in the early 19th century.