Bon Viveur – aka Fanny and Johnnie Cradock – Cook’s Book – SIGNED with wrap-around band

A first edition, second impression of Cook’s Book by Bon Viveur aka Fanny and Johnnie Cradock, published by The Daily Telegraph and Morning Post, London in 1964, designed and illustrated by William S. McCall. A near fine copy SIGNED and INSCRIBED by Fanny and Johnnie Cradock in blue ink to the title page, with bumping to the spine tips, a closed tear to the heel of the spine and hinge of rear board, a surface scrape to the lower edge of rear board, minor toning to the text block. In a promotional ‘Top of the Pops’ Daily Telegraph wrap-around band priced at 15 shillings.

Fanny and Johnnie Cradock’s “Bon Viveur” writing was really the foundation of the celebrity partnership they later brought to television. They used Bon Viveur as a joint pseudonym, most famously for their restaurant and hotel writing in The Daily Telegraph. The column ran in the early 1950s, generally dated 1950–1955, and involved the couple visiting and assessing restaurants and hotels in Britain and abroad. What made it distinctive was that they were writing about eating out at a time when British food journalism was far less developed than it is now. Their pieces combined restaurant criticism, travel, food advice and a rather theatrical appreciation of good living. “Bon Viveur” effectively became a brand rather than merely a pen name. The name subsequently appeared on cookery books and collections of recipes, including Bon Viveur Recipes, and their publishing work helped turn their newspaper reputation into a much broader public profile. Academic work on early television cookbooks notes that books were later marketed specifically on the strength of “Bon Viveur’s recipes”, showing how recognisable the name had become.