Time-Life's Germany, circa 1969

Above: I know it's strange to see this very Christmas-time marzipan in April, but I am mentally preparing myself for winter here in Australia. And it is too magnificent to leave out: who could resist marzipan tomatoes!

Above: the market of Esslingen, with fortress in the background. The symmetrical buildings are almost surreal in their detail. I love them.

Above: a supermarket in West Berlin shows how it's done. Shouldn't every shop have an enormous picture of at least one of its inventory looming over the top of it? The world would be a better place.

Above: an eighteenth century German cook "portrayed as a walking kitchen". In the background, a narrative of his efforts.

Above: I am not sure why this boy from Westphalia is so grumpy when he knows that his grandmother is making him pan-fried potato cakes with blueberry jam.

Above: Frau Klaus of Mettingen, who carries her dough to the communal baking house every two weeks. I want to dress like her. I have always wanted to dress like old ladies from European villages. Not so fun/interesting/ironic as you approach middle age yourself.

Above: and I'd like to dress like this foxy lady. What a gorgeous print! Hostess and writer Ursula von Kardorff serves a buffet in her apartment kitchen, " in keeping with the new informality that marks much German entertaining".

The magnificent front cover.

This book is part of my treasured (and highly incomplete) Time-Life Foods of the World series: The Cooking of Germany by Nika Standen Hazelton, photographed by Ralph Crane and Henry Grozinsky, 1969.