A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)

A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)

$875.00
Skip to product information
A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
  • A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)
A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)

A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes – Rare First Printing, 1968 (Turnpike Press, Virginia)

$875.00

A GOOD HEART AND A LIGHT HAND

Ruth L. Gaskins

True First Printing — 1968 Turnpike Press, Annandale, Virginia

A Good Heart and a Light Hand: Ruth L. Gaskins’ Collection of Traditional Negro Recipes. Annandale, Virginia: The Turnpike Press, 1968. First Printing (the self‑published community edition preceding the Simon & Schuster commercial reprint issued later the same year). Original price $3.00. Printed in the United States.

This landmark cookbook occupies a major place in American culinary history. It was reviewed by the New York Times. Craig Claiborne praised it as “far and away the best cookbook to deal with soul food.” It is also formally documented in Toni Tipton‑Martin’s The Jemima Code, the authoritative bibliography of African‑American cookbooks—an essential marker of cultural and scholarly significance.

A remarkably fresh, Near Fine example of the scarce community‑printed first edition, created as a fundraiser for the Fund for Alexandria, Virginia to support projects benefiting the city’s Black citizens. Spiral‑bound in its original metal comb format, this edition preserves mid‑century African‑American foodways, family traditions, and the voices of home cooks across Alexandria.

Illustrations: Porge Buck | Photographs: Elsa S. Rosenthal | Original Price: $3.00

This copy is clean, bright, and unmarked—no tears, no writing, no bookplate, and no ownership marks. A rare survival in exceptional condition and a cornerstone work in African‑American culinary history.

Spiral‑bound (metal comb) hardcover. Octavo (approx. 6 × 8.75 inches). 110 pages, including index. Features black‑and‑white line drawings of Alexandria landmarks (churches, community buildings) by Porge Buck, and photographs by Elsa S. Rosenthal, including the rear‑cover portrait of Mrs. Johnnie Mae Knapper and Mrs. Revish Rice.

Compiled from recipes contributed by family, neighbors, and professional cooks in Alexandria, this important early soul‑food and African‑American community cookbook celebrates “the Negro Welcome” and the six foundational ingredients of traditional Negro cookery: molasses, corn, greens, seafood, pork, and chicken. Recipes range from everyday dishes to large‑gathering quantities, including uncommon or older preparations noted throughout the text.

You may also like