The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating Volume Three by Eugene T. and Marilynn C. Sullivan is a 1979 first edition hardcover from Wilton Enterprises devoted to decorating cakes with piping tubes.
This heavily illustrated vintage cake decorating reference explores the uses of 180 decorating tubes, with examples of flowers, borders, writing, dimensional designs, wedding cakes, specialty cakes, and other piped techniques.
The photographed pages show detailed instruction beside large color cake photographs, making it useful for both someone learning classic Wilton methods and an experienced decorator interested in a distinctly 1970s approach to buttercream work.
Details
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Item: vintage cake decorating reference book
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Title: The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating Volume Three: The Uses of Tubes
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Author: edited by Eugene T. Sullivan and Marilynn C. Sullivan
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Illustrator: not confirmed from photos
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Publisher: Wilton Enterprises, Inc., Woodridge, Illinois
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Publication Year: 1979
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Edition and Printing: First Edition
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Format and Binding: hardcover
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Dust Jacket: present, with substantial edge wear, tears, creasing, and surface wear
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Pages: 328
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Genre: cake decorating, baking reference
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Language: English
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ISBN: 0-912696-16-8
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Dimensions: approximately 11 x 9 x 1 inches
Condition Grade: Good
Positives
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Graded Good: The book is complete and readable with noticeable exterior wear consistent with age and use.
- The interior pages are clean and easy to read according to seller inspection, with no food dye staining or spatters noted on the text pages.
- The binding remains usable, and the book retains its original dust jacket.
- Color photographs, instructional text, cake examples, and piping demonstrations remain bright and useful throughout the photographed interior.
Issues / Wear
- The dust jacket shows heavy wear, including tears, losses, creases, rubbed edges, and worn corners visible in the photos.
- There is staining or discoloration noted on the back area of the jacket.
- The jacket has larger damaged areas near the lower front edge and additional chipping along the top edge.
Condition Grade Key
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Near Fine: Almost perfect. Very minor signs of age only.
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Very Good: Shows light use. Sound and attractive with minor flaws.
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Good: Complete and intact. Noticeable wear consistent with age and use.
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Fair: Shows significant wear. Readable or usable but clearly used.
Collector's Notes
This volume reflects Wilton's long emphasis on teaching decorators how individual piping tubes could create specific flowers, borders, lettering, and sculptural effects.
It suits cake decorators, baking students, pastry enthusiasts, and collectors of vintage Wilton instructional books.
The photographed material shows an unusually dense visual reference, pairing step based text with large finished cake examples and close attention to piping techniques.
For someone who enjoys learning from older decorating methods, it offers a colorful look at the craft before modern fondant centered styling became commonplace.
