Good books on port

Anything to do with Port.
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DRT
Fonseca 1966
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Re: Good books on port

Post by DRT »

I have found a good source of scanned copies of ancient books that provides a very cheap alternative to buying print-on-demand re-prints, which normally cost between £10-15 per book from Amazon.

The site is http://www.million-books.com - it costs $9.99 per month to subscribe to their book club, for which you are allowed to download 4 PDFs per month. The site seems to do just what it says on the tin! I have been using this for two months now and have downloaded the following books:
  • Travels in Portugal - James Murphy - 1797
  • The Banks of the Douro - Emily Clark - 1805
  • The Spirit, Wine Dealer's and Publican's Director - Edward Palmer - 1824
  • The Civil War in Portugal - Hugh Owen 1836
  • Lusitanian sketches of the pen and pencil - William Henry Giles Kingston - 1845
  • A History of Wine and the Wine Trade in England - Andre L Simon - 1906
  • In Vino Veritas - Andre Louis, edited by Andre L Simon - 1913
...and the snappy-titled:
  • Wine and spirit adulterators unmasked, in a treatise, setting forth the manner employed, and the various ingredients which constitute the adulterations and impositions effected with the different wines and spirits offered to the public, through the medium of cheap prices, by many of the advertising and placarding wholesale wine and spirit merchants, and gin-shop-keepers, of the present day. Also shewing the method by which the notice of the excise is evaded, and affording a variety of other valuable information on the subject - 1827 - by "One of the Old School"
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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DRT
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Re: Good books on port

Post by DRT »

I have added a few more books to my library in the past few weeks and have posted details in the thread in the Reference section starting from here.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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DRT
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Re: Good books on port

Post by DRT »

[url=http://www.theportforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3452&p=34520#p34520]Here[/url] DRT wrote: Wines, Scriptural and Ecclesiastical
Author: Norman Shanks Kerr
First Published: 1881
Edition: 1881
Code/Source: ASIN: B0008A0HP0
Pages: 138
Comments: This is a beautiful little book which, unfortunately, is about a subject that is taboo on this forum. To give you a clue as to its contents, the author is described as "Hon. Sec. to the Society for Promoting Legislation for the Control and cure of Habitual Drunkards, and to the Dalrymple Home for Inebriates." :roll:

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"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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jdaw1
Dow 1896
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Re: Good books on port

Post by jdaw1 »

DRT wrote:I have started to build a reference list of Port and Wine related books here, starting with the books that I own. The header post in that thread contains an index list that provides links to subsequent posts giving details of each book. If anyone can come up with a nice clean method of ordering and/or categorising the books in the list I would be delighted to hear your suggestions. At the moment I am simply ordering it in the same order that I post details of each book but, if a better and more intuitive indexing system can be devised it will be easily re-ordered. At the moment I am inclined to go for a cronological index, but will be easily persuaded by a better suggestion.
I can help. Email.
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DRT
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Re: Good books on port

Post by DRT »

jdaw1 wrote:
DRT wrote:I have started to build a reference list of Port and Wine related books here, starting with the books that I own. The header post in that thread contains an index list that provides links to subsequent posts giving details of each book. If anyone can come up with a nice clean method of ordering and/or categorising the books in the list I would be delighted to hear your suggestions. At the moment I am simply ordering it in the same order that I post details of each book but, if a better and more intuitive indexing system can be devised it will be easily re-ordered. At the moment I am inclined to go for a cronological index, but will be easily persuaded by a better suggestion.
I can help. Email.
Thanks. Have sent data.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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DRT
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Re: Good books on port

Post by DRT »

DRT wrote:
jdaw1 wrote:I can help. Email.
Thanks. Have sent data.
For understandable reasons help never arrived.

So I created this index.
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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ac-fast
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Re: Good books on port

Post by ac-fast »

Just bought a book by Wyndham Fletcher " an introduktion to its history and delights.

It`s from 1978, and inside there was a letter from Cockburns to the Danish importer. Now I have contactet cockburns for more information.

Anyone know anytning about Cockburns ???
Any time not spend drinking port, is a waste of time.
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marc j.
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Re: Good books on port

Post by marc j. »

A good read is Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman 1692-1992. True it is a bit dated, but there are some interesting historical notes as well as a comprehensive (well sort of..) tasting note section.
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Alex Bridgeman
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Re: Good books on port

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

ac-fast wrote:Just bought a book by Wyndham Fletcher " an introduktion to its history and delights.

It`s from 1978, and inside there was a letter from Cockburns to the Danish importer. Now I have contactet cockburns for more information.

Anyone know anytning about Cockburns ???
Quite a lot - what would you like to know?
Top Ports in 2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.

2025: Quevedo 1972 Colheita, b.2024. Just as good as Niepoort 1900!
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DRT
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Re: Good books on port

Post by DRT »

DRT wrote:I have added a few more books to my library in the past few weeks and have posted details in the thread in the Reference section starting from here.
These have been added since...
  1. The Art of Good Living : André L. Simon, 1929
  2. A Traveller's History of Portugal : Ian Robertson, 2002
  3. What the Vintners Sell : Len Chaloner, 1926
  4. Wayward Tendrils of the Vine : Ian Maxwell Campbell, 1947
  5. The Worship Of Bacchus A Great Delusion 2nd Edition : Ebenezer Clarke, 1876
  6. The wine and food menu book : André L. Simon, 1956
  7. Wine, Women and Song: Mediaeval Latin Students's Songs : John Addington Symonds, 1884
  8. Tales from the Land of Nuts and Grapes : Charles Sellers, 1888
  9. The Wine Question in the light of the new dispensation : John Ellis, 1882
  10. A Practical Treatise of the Cultivation of the Grape Vine : William Thomson, 1865
  11. A Practical Treatise on the Cultivation of the Vine on Open Walls : Clement Hoare, 1847
  12. The Culture of the Grape and Wine Making : Robert Buchanan, 1863
  13. Observations Historical, Critical and Medical on the Wines of the Ancients : Sir Edward Barry, 1775
  14. A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons. Exhibiting the Fraudulent Sophistications of Bread, Beer, Wine, Spiritous Liquors, Tea, Coffee, Cream, Confectionery, Vinegar, Mustard, Pepper, Cheese, Olive Oil, Pickles, and Other Articles Employed in the Domestic Economy. And Methods of Detecting Them. : Frederick Accum, 1820
  15. A Treatise of the Art of Making Wine from Native Fruits : Frederick Accum, 1820
  16. Bacchus. An Essay of the Nature, Causes, Effects, and Cure, of Intemperence : Ralph Barnes Grinrod, 1839
  17. Wine, as it is Drank in England, and as it should be, pure, wholesome and refreshing : James L. Denman, 1865
  18. Wine and its Counterfeits : James L. Denman, 1876
  19. A Brief Discourse on Wine : James L. Denman, 1861
  20. What Should We Drink! : James L. Denman, 1868
  21. Drink : André L. Simon, 1948
  22. The Great Vintage Wine Book : Michael Broadbent, 1980
  23. The Great Vintage Wine Book: II : Michael Broadbent, 1991
  24. The Years Of Victory 1802-1812 : Arthur Bryant, 1944
  25. Wine Tasting : J, M. Broadbent, 1968
  26. Harveys of Bristol Wine List 1961 : John Lewis, 1961
  27. A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons : Frederick Accum, 1820
  28. History of the Wine Trade in England Volume I : André L. Simon, 1906
  29. A Philosophical and Statistical History of the Inventions and Customs of Ancient and Modern Nations in the Manufacture and Use of Inebriating Liquors : Samuel Morewood, 1838
  30. Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks : William Terrington, 1869
  31. In the Vine Country : E. Somerville and M. Ross, 1893
  32. A Treatise on the Origin, Nature, and Varieties of Wine: being a complete manual of viticulture and oenology : John Louis William Thudichum and August Dupre, 1872
  33. Hand-book of Wines, Practical, Theoretical and Historical with a Description of Foreign Spirits and Liqueurs : Thomas McMullen, 1852 - download
  34. The Manufacture of Liquors, Wines, and Cordials, without the aid of Distillation : Pierre Lacour, 1860
  35. Practical Notes on Wine : Edward Lonsdale Beckwith, 1868
  36. Pure Wine and How to Know It : James L. Denman, 1869
  37. Rambles in Madeira and in Portugal : Alfred Lyall, 1827
  38. The Topography of all the Known Vineyards : César Jullien, 1824
  39. The Wine Merchant : W R Loftus, 1865
  40. Treatise on Wines of the Principal Producing Countries : W & A Gilbey, 1869
  41. Beverages, Past and Present: An Historical Sketch of their Production, together with a Study of the Customs Connected with their Use, Volume I : Edward Randolph Emerson, 1908
  42. Wine and Spirits: The Connoisseur's Textbook : André L. Simon, 1919
  43. Dinners and Diners. Where and how to dine in London : Nathaniel Newnham Davis, 1899
  44. All About Wine Cellars : Howard G. Goldberg, 2004
  45. World Atlas of Wine : Hugh Johnson, 1971
  46. Vines and Vine Culture : Archibald Farquharson Barron, 1883 - download - buy
  47. A Contemplation of Wine : Herbert Warner Allen, 1951
  48. A Few Words About Port : Jose Joaquim da Costa Lima, 1948
  49. Guide to Good Food and Wines : André L. Simon, 1956
  50. Letters from the Peninsula 1808-1812 : William Warre, 1909
  51. Wine and the Wine Trade : André L. Simon, 1921
  52. A History of Wine: Great Vintage Wines from the Homeric Age to the Present Day : Herbert Warner Allen, 1961
  53. Madeira: Old and New : William Henry Koebel, 1909
  54. Life in a Noble Household 1641-1700 : Gladys Scott Thomson, 1937
  55. Portuguese Wine : Raymond Postgate, 1969
  56. The House of Sandeman: A Story of Fine Wines and Spirits : George Sandeman & Co., ??
  57. Compact Wine Guide : Luke Bayard, 1973
  58. The Supply, the Care and the Sale of Wine : André L. Simon, 1923
  59. History of the Wine Trade in England Volume II : André L. Simon, 1907
  60. History of the Wine Trade in England Volume III : André L. Simon, 1909
  61. Beverages, Past and Present: An Historical Sketch of their Production, together with a Study of the Customs Connected with their Use, Volume II : Edward Randolph Emerson, 1908
  62. A Word or Two on Port Wine Re-iterated : Joseph James Forrester, 1860
  63. A Hedonist in the Cellar: Adventures in Wine : Jay McInerney, 2005 - buy
  64. The Wine Book: Change the Way You Think About Wine : Matthew Jukes, 2005 - buy
  65. Wine: A Life Uncorked : Hugh Johnson, 2005 - buy
  66. Good Wine From Portugal : Herbert Warner Allen, 1957 - buy
  67. Number Three Saint James' Street (A History of Berry's the Wine merchants) : Herbert Warner Allen, 1950 - buy
  68. A Wine Miscellany : Graham Harding, 2005 - buy
  69. By Request: An Autobiography : André L. Simon, 1957 - buy
  70. Observations Historical, Critical and Medical on the Wines of the Ancients : Sir Edward Barry, 1775 - download - buy
  71. An Essay on Wines, Especially on Port Wine; Intended to Instruct Every Person to Distinguish That Which Is Pure, and to Guard Against the Frauds of Adulteration : John Wright, 1795 - buy
  72. A Treatise on the Wines of Portugal; and what can be gathered on the subject and nature of the wines, &c. since the establishment of the English factory at Oporto, anno 1727 : John Croft, 1788 - buy
  73. Recollections of Old Country Life : John Kersley Fowler, 1894 - download - buy
  74. The History of Champagne : André L. Simon, 1962 - buy
  75. The Noble Grapes and the Great Wines of France : André L. Simon, 1957 - buy
  76. The Story of Our Inns of Court : Dunbar Plunket Barton, Charles Benham and Francis Watt, 1924 - buy
  77. Hand-book of Wines, Practical, Theoretical, and Historical: With a Description of Foreign Spirits and Liquers : Thomas McMullen, 1852 - download - buy
  78. Portuguese Panorama : Iris Merle, 1958 - buy
  79. The Story of Dow's Port 1798-1998 : Richard Mayson, 1998 - buy
  80. A Wine Day's Work: The London House of Deinhard 1835-1985 : George Bruce, 1985 - buy
  81. The Wine Trade (The Merchant Adventurers) : Alan David Francis, 1972 - buy
  82. The Wine Drinker's Manual : Unknown, 1830 - download - buy
  83. The Wholesale and Retail Wine and Spirit Merchants Companion and Complete Instructor to the Trade : Joseph Hartley, 1839 - buy
  84. A Treatise on the Culture of the Vine : William Speechly, 1790 - buy
"The first duty of Port is to be red"
Ernest H. Cockburn
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