The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections

The University of Alabama Libraries is proud to hold one of the largest collections of African American cookbooks in the country. The collection currently consists of almost 500 volumes covering the period from 1827, when the first book with recipes by an 

African American was published, through the year 2000. 

The David Walker Lupton African American Cookbook Collection strengthens the Libraries’ holdings in African American history and culture and is used by a broad range of library patrons. Lupton put this collection together through intensive effort over a period of ten years. Mrs. Lupton, who resides in Oriental, North Carolina, recently stated, “David had a deep conviction that cookbooks compiled by individuals in America of African heritage needed to be identified and preserved.”

You can see a full list of collection holdings at our website.

You can also isolate these records in a UA Libraries catalog search. In an Advanced Search, use the keywords Lupton Collection (all of these, keyword anywhere), with the location limited to Hoole Library.

Hoole library holds over 1100 cookbooks. In addition to the Lupton Collection, they can also be found in 

Wade Hall Collection -- mostly southern (including Kentucky), includes many church and social club compilations; also features world cuisine cookbooks for American audiences

Alabama Collection -- mostly Alabama or Southern

Rare Books Collection -- older and more general cookbooks

Special Collections -- donated in memory of Viola Pearson Ragland, largely focused on African-American and/or Southern cuisine

Lupton Collection

• Cook Book "work and serve the home" : dedicated to the New Jersey State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. 1930. TX715 .C66 1928.
• Aunt Jemima recipes. 194-?. TX715 .A96 1940z.
• Cooking with soul : favorite recipes of negro homemakers. 1968. TX715 .H4 1968.
• The African heritage cookbook. 1971. TX715 .M55 1971.
• Soul to soul : a soul food vegetarian cookbook. 1976. TX837 .B92 1976.
• Cookin' with jazz. 1981. TX715 .C66 1981 v.1.
• Everybody's cookbook : uptown-downtown cuisine. 1984. TX715 .R644 1984.
• Sylvia's Soul Food : recipes from Harlem's world famous restaurant. 1992. TX715 .W895 1992.
• Northern fried chicken : a historical adventure into the black community of Scranton, Pa. 1993. F159.S4 W5 1993.

Wade Hall Collection

• The Boston cooking-school cook book. 1924. TX715 .F234 1924.
• 200 years of Charleston cooking. 1930. TX715 .R472.
• American regional cookery. 1946. TX715 .H63 1946a.
• Seafood and wild game cook book. 1948. TX743 .C76 1948.
• Cooking the Scandinavian way. 1961. TX722.Al A3 1961.
• Sassafras! : the Ozarks cookbook. 1985. TX715.2.M53 S27 1985.
• The complete American-Jewish cookbook : in accordance with the Jewish dietary laws. 1971. TX724 .C57 1989.

Alabama Collection

• Gulf City cookbook / compiled by the ladies of the St. Francis Street Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Mobile, Alabama. 1911. TX715 .H397.
• Purefoy Hotel cook book : true and tried recipes of real southern cooking. 1941. TX715 .P9615 1960.
• Treasured Alabama recipes. 1964. TX715 .W765.
• Break bread with the black belt. 1990. TX715 .B82 1990x.
• The African-American heritage cookbook : traditional recipes and fond remembrances from Alabama's renowned Tuskegee Institute. 1996. TX715 .T568 1996. 

Other Collections

• La cuisine creole : a collection of culinary recipes from leading chefs and noted Creole housewives, who have made New Orleans famous for its cuisine. 1885. TX715 .H397 (Lafcadio Hearn Collection).
• The wartime cook book. 1943. TX715 .B804 1943 (Rare Books Collection).
• The lost art of scratch cooking. 1997. TX715.2.S68 P37 1997 (Special Collections, donated in memory of Viola Pearson Ragland).