8 Collectible Vintage Cookbooks Worth Buying For Your Kitchen At Thrift Stores

Vintage cookbooks can have all sorts of utility in today's kitchens, whether it's providing inspiration and guidance on new dishes or serving as prized decorative items on a shelf or counter. While there are many gorgeous cookbook's out there covering a variety of meals and international cuisines, some vintage and older cookbooks can be worth quite a lot, depending on desirability among collectors, visual style, and the fame of its authors. They can be found in places like thrift stores, secondhand booksellers, and online markets where early editions and popular titles can often fetch a pretty penny. They include titles from legendary homemaking gurus and famed home magazine kitchens, along with books compiling everything from Mennonite church bake sale recipes to kid-friendly cuisine.

For the rarest and most in-demand books, you can often find them through secondhand book retailers like the AbeBooks or on online auction sites, with prices that typically depend on condition and rarity. You can also find older cookbooks for a bargain in places like estate sales and garage sales, both of which may yield a valuable find. Use these fun vintage books as cooking guides or as décor, with many fun ways to store your favorite cookbooks. Place a stack along a counter or on a shelf to keep them at the ready or to reinforce your vintage kitchen aesthetic. Or, display them on a stylish vintage wire rack or create a cookbook display shelf to the side of your cabinet .They also work wonderfully as risers for other décor like candles, vases, or crocks. Even books in terrible shape can be salvaged for their fun illustrations or photographs, which can be framed as vintage-chic wall art.

Compiled from Mennonite women across the country by Mary Emma Showalter as her thesis project, the "Mennonite Community Cookbook" is a collection of recipes drawn from Dutch and German traditions. In addition to church bake sale favorites like cakes, pies, and pudding, it also contains menus and instructions for a 175-people barn raising that includes lemon pies and roast beef. Copies of the hardcover book with charming Dutch illustrations is typically worth up to $50, depending on condition.

One of the most visually interesting cookbooks both inside and out, "The Fireside Cook Book" was published in 1949 by famed chef James Beard and offers recipes from the simple to the complex. It contains over 1,000 recipes accompanied by gorgeous illustrations by Alice and Martin Provensen. Now in its ninth printing, sections include desserts, appetizers and snacks, as well as seasonal and holiday menus. Recipes inside encompass everything from American fried chicken to delicate French croquettes. Copies of the first edition have previously sold for up to $250.

"Betty Crocker's Cooky Book" was released in 1963 with 450 recipes drawn from both the U.S. and abroad, including their famous French lace cookies, snowball cookies, and classic chocolate chip. It presents endless options for modern day holiday cookie parties, so it may be worth picking up for your own holiday baking. It also looks adorable on a bookstand on your counter during the holiday season. Sales for the first edition can cost around $120.

The famous lifestyle guru published "Entertaining" in 1982 when she was just becoming a household name. Original editions can be found for around $200 in various conditions from booksellers, with like-new copies selling for over $1,000 being sold online. However, they can be occasionally spotted for a bargain in thrift stores. Stewarts book sorts recipes and advice by occasion, including weddings, afternoon teas, and holiday dinners. There are plans for the cookbook to be reissued later this year.

"The Woman's Home Companion Cook Book," one of the largest collections on this list, contains over 2,600 recipes quelled from the namesake magazine, all of which were tried out in their Home Services kitchen and culled from issues spanning decades of publishing. Illustrated with mid-century chic photography and published in 1944, It includes highlights like their popular applesauce cookies and rhubarb marmalade.

"Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls" was publisehd in 1957 for kids features a menu of items easy for younger chefs to make on their own, including pigs in a blanket, ice cream cone cakes, and sloppy Joes. With charming and playful illustrations, the writing and instructions are simplified for younger readers. Newer editions can be found for less in secondhand marketplaces, but a first edition could cost you around $70. 

Known for its distinctive cover that resembles a picnic tablecloth and its utilitarian three-ring binder format, the "Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook" in rare good condition can be found in the $20 to $50 range with many reprints and new editions published since the original in 1953. The collection is broken into sections like desserts, meats, soups and sauces, and eggs with shortcuts, diagrams, and illustrations to make things easy. It also includes information on meal planning and nutrition.

First self-published in a small batch of just 300 in 1931 by Irma Rombauer, the original edition of the "Joy of Cooking" featured illustrations by the author's daughter. Conversational style and practical kitchen advice along with specific recipes, this book has since gone on to be one of the most published and famous cookbooks in America, with multiple editions and reissues that started with an expanded edition in 1936. An original copy of the first blue clothbound edition has been found listed for $6,800 on eBay, with newer and larger printings considered vintage costing upwards of $30.