Esther B. Aresty (1908-2000) was a cookbook collector and culinary historian who wrote on cuisine, cooking, cookbooks, and etiquette. Aresty and her husband, Julian Aresty, donated her exceptional collection of rare cookbooks and cookery manuscripts to the University of Pennsylvania in 1996 shortly before they passed away in 2000 and 1999, respectively. Her publications include The Grand Venture (1963), The Delectable Past (1964), The Best Behavior (1970), and The Exquisite Table (1980), in addition to a number of pieces of non-fiction and fiction. She also drafted and published the teen romance novel, Romance in Store (1983), under the pseudonym Elaine Arthur.
Mrs. Aresty's collection of cookbooks spans five centuries and represents most of the world's cultures. It includes 577 printed titles, thirteen manuscript cookbooks, and a collection of her papers.
-
Esther Aresty's bookplate