The Pocket Cook Book

4th prtg          36th prtg

Cardinal C-181              78246     

Benco Edition

Often, vintage paperback collectors find it surprising which books are the rarest, and therefore the most collectible. Of course, such things become quite evident the longer you engage in the hobby. For example, early crossword puzzle books are extremely scarce in good condition.

Any bookstore owner will be able to tell you how collectible used cookbooks are. And such is the case with The Pocket Cook Book, Pocket Book #181. (At the time of this writing, I cannot find a first printing of this book for sale anywhere.) It was reprinted many, many times under that book number, as well as a 35¢ printing as Cardinal C-181, and again in the 1970's as Pocket Book 78246.

BookScans contributor Brad Hollerbach, from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, alerted me to this 50th printing by The Benjamin Company (Benco), printed in 1964. Displayed below are the cover, inside front cover, title page, title verso and the back cover. The inside cover blurb identifies Benco as "the special sales organization of POCKET BOOKS, INC."

The books were obviously produced as giveaways, probably for sale in bulk to various enterprises. My copy has a bank stamp on the cover, but Brad's has no such identifying markings.