Ball Blue Book 1935 Canning Cookbook Lot with 1974 Ball Freezer Book and 1964 Food Freezing Facts

Ball Blue Book 1935 cookbook lot with three vintage guides to home canning, preserving, and freezing, including a heavily used Ball Blue Book filled with handwritten notes from its previous owner.

All three books shown are included. The lot spans 1935 to 1974 and preserves an interesting slice of changing American home food preservation, from jars and pickles to the growing use of the home freezer.

Details

• Item: Lot of three vintage softcover food preservation books
• Title: The Ball Blue Book of Canning and Preserving Recipes; Ball Freezer Book; Food Freezing Facts
• Author: Ball Brothers Company and Ball Corporation titles; Food Freezing Facts issued by Home Service Committee, Edison Electric Institute
• Illustrator: not confirmed from photos, add if known
• Publisher: The Ball Blue Book published by Educational Department of Ball Brothers Company, Muncie, Indiana; Ball Freezer Book by Ball Corporation, Muncie, Indiana; Food Freezing Facts issued by Home Service Committee, Edison Electric Institute
• Publication Year: 1935, 1974, and 1964 printing of a 1954 copyright
• Edition and Printing: The Ball Blue Book states Edition S and copyright 1935; Ball Freezer Book states Vol. 1, No. 1, copyright 1974; Food Freezing Facts states Eleventh Printing, 1964, revised 1961, copyright 1954
• Format and Binding: Three illustrated softcover booklets
• Dust Jacket: None
• Pages: The Ball Blue Book, 56 pages; Ball Freezer Book, 48 pages; Food Freezing Facts, 24 pages
• Genre: Cookbooks, home canning, food preservation, and freezing
• Language: English
• ISBN: No ISBN 
• Dimensions: The Ball Blue Book, 10 x 7 inches; Ball Freezer Book, 9 x 6 inches; Food Freezing Facts, 9 x 6 inches

Contents Note: The Ball Blue Book includes canning and preserving recipes, including pickles, fruits, vegetables, and other preserved foods. The previous owner marked and modified multiple recipes, including Spiced Cucumbers and Pickled Green Tomato Pickles. The Ball Freezer Book covers fruits and berries, vegetables, meats, poultry, dairy products, fish, prepared foods, storage, and freezing tips. Food Freezing Facts provides practical information on preparing and storing foods for the home freezer.

Condition Grade: Fair

Positives

• Graded Fair: This three book lot remains readable and useful as vintage reference material, but the 1935 Ball Blue Book shows significant use and staining.
• Recipes and instructional text remain legible in the photographed books.
• The 1935 Ball Blue Book retains its colorful period illustrations and numerous handwritten recipe notes from a previous owner.
• The 1974 Ball Freezer Book includes color and line illustrations.
• Food Freezing Facts includes a removable beef and pork cuts chart tucked inside by a previous owner.

Issues / Wear

• The 1935 Ball Blue Book has substantial cover wear, rubbed and chipped edges, corner wear, creasing, stains, water staining, and age toning.
• The Ball Blue Book contains extensive previous owner writing, underlining, recipe changes, additions, subtractions, and approval notes such as OK.
• A previous owner wrote on the Ball Blue Book title page and noted receiving or using the book in 1937.
• Interior pages of the Ball Blue Book show stains and water marks, while the recipes remain legible.
• The other booklets show scattered staining, discoloration, edge wear, and signs of handling visible in the photos.

Important Food Safety Note: These are vintage publications and are sold as historical cookbooks and reference material. Home canning and food preservation safety standards have changed. Before using any vintage canning or preservation instructions, compare them with current tested recommendations from a reliable modern food safety source. The recipes can still provide inspiration, but processing times and preservation methods should not be assumed to meet current safety guidance.

Collector's Notes

The Ball Blue Book was part of a long running Ball tradition of teaching home cooks how to preserve food, with the first Ball Blue Book appearing in 1909.

Books like these appeal to collectors of vintage cookbooks, Ball jars, home economics material, and American kitchen history.

This lot is especially interesting because the 1935 book carries handwritten recipe changes and notes left by its previous owner.

Together, the three books show how home food preservation moved from the canning cupboard toward the freezer across several decades.

Shipping + Trust (Reading Vintage standards)

1. Photo-verified condition (no surprises)
   
2. Packed with our protective packaging standard
   
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Disclaimer

All items are vintage and may show signs of age, wear, or use consistent with their history. Photos show the exact condition of each piece—please review them carefully, as they are part of the description. 

Care and Handling:
Handle with clean, dry hands. Store upright, out of direct sunlight, at about 68°F and 40–50% relative humidity. Avoid damp areas and extreme temperature swings.