ELIZA LESLIE - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 12/17/1839 - HFSID 169482

ELIZA LESLIE
The American cookbook and etiquette author sends letter informing colleague of the most recent volume of the Gift, of which she was editor of, signed in black ink
Autograph letter signed: "Eliza Leslie" in black ink. 1 page, 7¾x9¾. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. December 17, 1839. In full: "My dear Mrs. Embury, I again request the favor of a contribution from your pen to the Figt of 1841, which goes to print certainly on the 1st of March next. There will be no Violet. Preparations for this volume of the Gift have been retarded by a doubt of the probability of getting the plates ready in time, the artists being exceptionally occupied; but all connoted with the pictorial department is now satisfactorily arranged; and we are anxious for the literary portion of the work to proceed as fast as comports with the convenience or our contribution. Yours truly". Eliza Leslie (1887-1858) was an American author of popular cookbooks and etiquette books during the early nineteenth century. Her father was a Philadelphia watchmaker, and was personal friends with people such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. After a brief stint editing an annual gift book called The Gift, which published contributions from authors such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Nathaniel Parker Willis, Elizabeth F. Ellet, Lydia Sigourney and Charles Fenno Hoffman, Leslie began publishing her own work. Her work includes Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats (1828), American Girl's Book (1831), Miss Leslie's Behavior Book (1834), Amelia, or, A Young Lady's New Receipt-Book (1850) and Miss Leslie's New Cookery Book (1857). Toned. Normal mailing folds. Soiled. Corners rounded. Creased throughout. Addressed with postage stamps on verso. Otherwise, fine condition.