Treatise on Domestic Economy, by Catherine Beecher, Boston, 1848

First published in 1841, this work on domestic reform was a best seller of its time, going through three editions in 15 years. It is a set of detailed instructions for running the household and encourages self-sufficiency should a housewife lose her domestic support by the loss of servants, a husband or husband’s income. In her attempts to improve the status of women by elevating the status of housekeeping, Beecher’s work marked the beginning of serious education in the domestic arts and sets the stage for the later domestic science movement and its offshoot, scientific cookery.