NewYorkFirst.com: The Gentleman's Companion

Progress in Civilization.

There's nothing like the real thing, whatever it is.

We have acquired a limited number of original, previously-owned 1946 editions of Charles Baker's, The Gentleman's Companion, nearly forgotten in the history of travel and leisure. Offered for sale (a prized addition to the library of a worldly gentleman).

Long before Town and Country became an excuse for perfume ads, the magazine sent its distinguished writer, Charles H. Baker, on assignment around the world to find the very best food and drink. The result was an eclectic compilation called The Gentleman's Companion, a legendary and extremely rare literary work, worthy of Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg.

The two volume set, including both an "Exotic Cookery Book" as well as an "Exotic Drink Book," provides a provocative and insightful snapshot of the civilized 1940s. In The Gentleman's Companion, Baker outlines a grand cocktail tour that takes the reader on imaginative flights fueled by drinks like the Vladivostok Virgin, "being a risky little heart-warmer from out Frozen Siberia," or "the unpredictable Balloon Cocktail from Calcutta's smartest restaurant, Firpo's." American readers whose idea of exotic travel goes no farther than the Grand Canyon can prepare an Aguacate Cubano, a spine-stiffening matter of Bahama Conchs, or Queen Elizabeth's Roasting Marinade for Saddle of Venison.

Few books, before or since, have even approached this urbanely masculine treatise on gastronomy.

Eating His Way Through Europe.

Make each day a new destination. Then again, stay put in a comfortable reading chair with a copy of Charles H. Baker's Culinary Companion, his follow-up assignment prepared for Esquire Magazine.

In this exotic cookery book, the famous connoisseur-expert presents the recipes for the outstanding cookery masterpieces from each of a baker's dozen European countries. To collect these precious secret recipes of Europe's master chefs, Mr. Baker made several culinary expeditions, and he recounts wise and amusing advice as well as instructions in preparation and service.

A gentleman's collector's item and a way to reimagine life on a more interesting basis.

Professional Barman's Kit
To accompany these volumes on the gentlemanly art of exotic food and drink, New York's legendary bartender, Dale DeGroff, has used his many years of liquid field work to assemble a complete toolbox for proper mixing of cocktails at home. CLICK HERE for more information.