In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Acknowledgments Many problems confront anyone writing about the history of the turkey. Among the mass of information available are tens of thousands of references, descriptions, and depictions in American and European literature, newspapers, diaries, letters, legal documents , paintings, engravings, poems, zoological works, and cookbooks . It is impossible for any one individual to examine each of these. Another problem is that Arlie William Schorger, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, collected 2,600 historical citations and published them in his monumental The Wild Turkey: Its History and Domestication (1966). Anyone attempting to write about turkey history needs to avoid being a footnote to that masterful work. I am indebted to others who have explored the history of the turkey: Albert Hazen Wright, whose four-part series “Early Records of the Wild Turkey” appeared in Auk; Karen Davis, author of More Than a Meal:The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual and Reality (2001); and Sabine Eiche, who wrote Presenting the Turkey: The Fabulous Story of a Flamboyant and Flavourful Bird (2004), a beautiful book filled with spectacular illustrations and extensive sources and insights into turkey history. As with Schorger’s work, I have borrowed sources liberally from these as well. This story could not have been told without the assistance of many others who have passed on information about turkeys: James Baker, former vice president and chief historian, Plimoth Plantation , Plymouth, Massachusetts; Karen Goldstein, also at Plimoth Plantation; Peggy M. Baker, director and librarian, Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, Massachusetts; Sandra Oliver, editor, Food History News, Isleboro,Maine;Kathleen Curtin,food historian,Plimoth Plantation; Barry Popik, independent researcher, New York City; Janet Clark, culinary historian, Brisbane, Australia; Cathy Kaufman, culinary historian, New York City; Barbara Kuck, then at Culinary Archives and Museum, Johnson and Wales University, Providence, Rhode Island; Karen Hess, New York, New York; and Joseph Carlin, Food Heritage Press, Ipswich, Massachusetts. Ken Albala, professor of history, University of Pacific, Stockton, California , helped with translations and location of Renaissance turkey recipes, specifically those of Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera Dell’Arte del Cucinare; Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir forwarded turkey recipes from Iceland; Carolin Young assisted with the translation of sixteenth-century French sources; Cara De Silva, New York, New York, supported of this project and helped with Italian turkey connections; Mario Zannoni, Parma, Italy, assisted in researching turkey linguistics in Italy; Susan Rossi-Wilcox, Cambridge, Massachusetts, helped with Charles Dickens and the turkey; and Richard Wright, Balmain, Australia, provided information about turkey recipes in British cookbooks. I also thank James G. Dickson, editor of the Proceedings of the Seventh National Wild Turkey Symposium and Merritt Professor of Forestry at Louisiana Tech University , Ruston, Louisiana; Karen Davis, author of More Than a Meal: The Turkey in History, Myth, Ritual and Reality and president of United Poultry Concerns, Machipongo, Virginia; Mark Zanger, culinary historian, Boston; Fritz Blanc, chef and culinary historian, Philadelphia; Nick Aretakis, William Reese Company , New Haven; James Earl Kennamer, senior vice president for Conservation Programs, National Wild Turkey Federation, Edgefield, South Carolina; Tom Hughs, biologist, National Wild Turkey Federation, Edgefield, South Carolina; Marjorie Bender, research and technical program manager, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Pittsboro, North Carolina; Paula Lambert, Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities, Las Cruces, New Mexico; Christy Marr, National Turkey Federation, Washington, D.C.; Walter Levy, Accord, New York; Malcolm Thick, historian, United Kingdom; and Bonnie Slotnick, who patiently commented upon each chapter with intelligence and constructive criticism . All comments and responses have been appreciated, but not all have been accepted or incorporated; I accept all responsibility for errors that may appear in this work. I’d also like to thank Bill Regier, director and editor-in-chief of the University of Illinois Press, for his constant encouragement and right-on-target advice; Mary Giles for her excellent and prompt editing of the book’s manuscript ; and all the staff at the Press for their behind-the-scenes work. xxii . acknowledgments ...

Share