Cookbook Collection of Famed Washington Post Restaurant Critic Going on the Auction Block

Nearly 200 cookbooks from the private collection of former Washington Post food editor and restaurant critic Phyllis Richman will be on sale Wednesday, Aug. 12 at Quinn’s Auction Galleries, in Falls Church.

In addition, Richman’s collection of Art Pottery, including works by Weller and Peters Reed, and a selection of commemorative plates from James Beard Foundation dinners, will also be up for auction.

The cookbooks, many of which are first editions and several of which are signed by the authors to Richman, will be sold to benefit the Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area.

Additionally, several out-of-print editions of Richman’s mystery novels “The Butter Did It” and “Murder on the Gravy Train” will be sold at $10 each to benefit the foundation.

The cookbook collection includes titles like a 1970 first edition volume of “The French menu Cookbook” and a 1975 edition of “The Joy of Cooking.” The Time-Life Foods of the World series as well as books by Jacques Pepin, Diana Kennedy, Richard Olney and local authors Joan Nathan and Paula Shoyer are also part of the collection.

The Beard Dinner plates date from 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998. Each has a distinctive design capturing the theme of that year’s gala.

• Phyllis Richman cookbook, pottery collection – Wednesday, August 12
• Preview begins at 10 a.m.; auction begins at 6 pm.
• QUINN’S AUCTION GALLERIES is located at 360 S. Washington St. in Falls Church.