The collection of cookbooks and other materials related to the culinary arts collected by Chef Louis Szathmary is quite a wonder. All told, the collection totals over 20,000 items and it is held by the University of Iowa Special Collections. This particular slice of these manuscripts includes over 100 items, including an English cookbook from 1650, an "American cookbook" from 1759, and a cookbook from a Illinois homemaker named Lydia Bauer. Visitors can browse the collection by century or by ethnic tradition, including Irish and English. Visitors are also encouraged to help out with access to these fine documents by offering to help transcribe these unique handwritten culinary chronicles.