Older generations used to have kids in the kitchen with them, whilst they were cooking; sometimes to help out with preparations, sometimes just to keep an eye on them. And they did write down some recipes, just as my grandmother did.
I too will pay up for a cherished novel that I read/had as a child and have done so, through the years. But prices of books still amaze me.
I have several books, that I bought in the '50s and '60s, at discount bookstores ( for a dollar or less ), that are first editions, which are now selling at eye watering prices. So I guess you never know!
I got an earlier edition of Vincent Price’s ‘Treasury of Great Recipes’ recently. It was going for between 40 and 50-some dollars when I first found it, but I waited until I found it down to less than 30 somewhere.
He was a gourmand and loved to cook. The book is full of recipes from restaurants he and his wife enjoyed all over the world. A lot of them are very elaborate and have to be adapted somewhat for today, but the book really is a treasure.