Manuscript receipt (recipe) book of Mrs Betsy Westhead of Manchester. There are approximately fifty culinary, medicinal and household receipts. Household and medical receipts include 'Ruffs for the wrists'; 'Knitting for Edging'; 'Narrow Edging'; 'Ointments &c. for Sprains and Bruises'; 'Cold Cream'; 'To make Soap'; 'Lavender Water'; 'Washing Paste'; 'For cleaning woollen cloths'; 'Dinner Pills' (comrising aloes, mastic and wormwood); 'Cream for the Hair'; 'How to wash Prints'; 'For the Hair to preserve it. Capt. Carpenter', etc. However, the majority are culinary, such as: 'Curry Soup'; 'Calves Foot Jelly - Mrs Tootal'; 'To Preserve Cucumber... Robert Owen'; 'Almond Pudding'; 'Baked Hunters pudding'; 'Currant Bread Cake - excellent Mrs. Wynn'; 'Tea Cakes - Mrs. Jellicoise'; 'Rhubarb Wine Mrs. Jones Sheffield'; 'Soda Cake'; 'Delicate Biscuits', etc. One receipt gives directions for making a paper children's toy, including an illustration of which shapes should be cut out. Others concern cleaning directions for paint, oil rags, and the removal of mould from linen.
The volume provides an intimate glimpse into the domestic life of the wife of a prominent Wesleyan businessman in Manchester. She evidently shared receipts with friends and acquaintances, and the volume provides valuable evidence of social networks among upper middle-class women in Manchester.