T wo versions of Amelia Simmons’ American Cookery appeared in 1796, and the second one has an addition at the end which is intriguing because we know nothing about who the author is scolding or why this small piece of sabotage was perpetrated. The tacked-on page is printed on a paper different from the sturdy rag paper of the text, and it is labeled “Advertisement,” as shown below:

Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that the corrections ever caught up with the originals, and the cook who used twice as much emptins or half as much flour as she needed probably never knew why her cake was a miserable failure.