L’évolution des périodiques culinaires du xviie au début du xxe siècle : regard statistique sur les corpus conservés à la BnF

Abstract

A statistical study was carried out on a corpus comprising more than 300 periodicals devoted to cuisine, food trades and gastronomy between the seventeenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, held today by the French national library. This study analysed different criteria such as typology (almanac, journal, review, bulletin, gazette), how long it appeared for, its periodicity, the place of publication and dates of creation and cessation of publication. Three main categories were identified: periodicals dealing with the sphere of domestic affairs and the domestic economy, aimed primarily at a female readership; periodicals intended for professionals; and so-called gastronomical periodicals for a gourmet readership, dealing with the latest gastronomical, literary and artistic news in the capital. The analysis of the culinary press shows how many of the periodicals had only an ephemeral existence. There was a peak in the number of publications during the second half of the nineteenth century, within a broader general context the development of the press during this period.

Keywords

• Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
• Gallica
• culinary periodicals
• gastronomy
• cuisine
• gourmet heritage