Rombauer (Family)

Irma von Starkloff Rombauer (1877-1962) and her daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker (1903-1976), were the co-authors of the classic best-selling cookbook, Joy of Cooking. Born and raised in cultured German circles in St. Louis, Mo., Rombauer came to cookbook writing as a complete amateur after her husband's suicide in 1930. From her first effort, published in 1931 at her own expense, Joy evolved into a general cookbook notable for its ingenious new recipe format; it was published commercially in 1936, and met with national success in 1943. Marion Rombauer Becker, who had moved to Cincinnati after her marriage to architect John Becker, joined as co-author in 1951. Becker steered the cookbook as it developed into one of the most important American culinary reference works of the twentieth century. A civic leader with a profound interest in art, Becker taught art in schools in St. Louis and Cincinnati (1929-36), and served as director of the Cincinnati Modern Art Society (1942-47) and secretary and program chair (1947-54). A gardener, with a passionate interest in the environment, she was also one of the authors of Wild Wealth (1971), a book exploring ecology and use of wild flowers.

From the description of Papers of the Rombauer-Becker family, 1795-1992 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 232008946