The Vintage Julia Child Cookbook That Could Be Worth Thousands

Never mind trendy cookbooks by modern celebrity chefs—sometimes, it feels good to go back to the classics. While some swear by the multitude of recipes in "The Joy of Cooking," if you're in the mood to make French cuisine, the ultimate English-language cookbook for decades has been Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." But if you happen to have an old copy on your kitchen shelf, be careful not to spill sauce on it—depending on when it was published, it could be worth thousands of dollars. Listings for signed first editions of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and its sequel, "Volume Two: Mastering the Art of French Cooking" hit five figures on Etsy, while a first edition of the first volume alone, not signed, can go for over $2,000.

It's important to note that, even if you do have an older copy of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" at home, there might not be a major payout in your future. While a first edition can be very valuable, other early editions of the cookbook sell online for hundreds at most, rather than thousands. Moreover, the price for used books varies significantly depending on condition, and cookbooks are often damaged from exposure to food and liquids, as well as damage to the spines from being left open while following a recipe.

So, why is one simple cookbook potentially so valuable? Well, it all comes down to Julia Child herself and how she impacted home cooking in America. If you've ever seen the 2009 film "Julie and Julia," you may already know that Child began cooking when her husband, a diplomat, was posted in France, and she enjoyed the local cuisine so much that she wanted to learn to make it herself. While Child enjoyed all kinds of food, including Chinese cuisine and a favorite brand of store-bought mayo, classic French food was her lifelong favorite, and her work reflected that. But when Child and her partners, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, wrote "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," they weren't just sharing favorite recipes with the world; they had produced the first classical French cookbook specifically designed for ordinary American readers.

After the Child returned to the United States, she would find further success, and endear herself to millions, as a television cooking show host. For years, her program "The French Chef" provided viewers with the chance to see how a variety of French dishes, from the everyday to special occasion meals, were prepared. Moreover, Child's laid-back, humorous approach to cooking, such as her ability to laugh off a messy job icing a buche de Noel, helped her audience feel less intimidated by complex or unfamiliar recipes.