Check Your Attic… Howard Mitcham's Provincetown Seafood Cookbook is Rare

Keep an eye out for Chef Howard Mitcham's iconic
cookbook at a good price, or make a few bucks by
selling your own copy of this collectible treasure.

In attics, old stairwells and circular cellars throughout PTown there are treasures tucked away, long forgotten. Besides rare, vintage photographs and artwork, silver serving pieces, jewelry and other obviously valuable finds, there are items far less conspicuous, but worth a good bit of cash on the open market.

A case in point would be Howard Mitcham's Provincetown Seafood Cookbook. The first printing of the original softcover Addison-Wesley edition back in 1975 is currently offered on eBay at $240. When I searched online I found the price for a used copy was most often nearly double, at $476. One site listed the book at over $1,200, so perhaps that was for a pristine, unread copy. It seems that a first edition hardcover will likely cost you over $7,000, if you can find one for sale. A second softcover edition printed that same year, used, runs $150.

Acclaimed chef Anthony Bourdain, who got his culinary start in Provincetown, describes this charming cookbook, in-and-out of print over the last 40 years, as "a witty, informative ode to local seafood, sprinkled with anecdotes." Bordain also reportedly declared this the “best seafood cookbook in history.”

An Amazon blurb says that "this illustrated cookbook combines mouthwatering recipes with fascinating glimpses of history and folklore. Provincetown's best-known chef recounts the development of the town's fishing fleet and offers dozens of Portuguese- and Creole-influenced recipes for Cape Cod seafood favorites."

Chapters include any kind of seafood imaginable.

Indeed, when I moved from the mountains to the seashore in 1988, I went from frying up a skillet of rainbow trout to wrestling with clams, oysters, lobsters and other fresh, gorgeous varieties of seafood that I'd never had a chance to cook with.
I learned how to shuck an oyster, and successfully pulled off cooking my first lobster, my first plate of linguine with white clam sauce, and whipped up my first from-scratch kettle of authentic New England clam chowder, all by reading the Provincetown Seafood Cookbook.
I learned a bit of PTown history and lore at the same time through this highly renowned chef's entertaining stories and anecdotes, which roll across the pages as easily as his recipes and illustrations do.
Amazon says "Provincetown's most famous chef, Howard Mitcham (1917–96) is widely considered the first of the celebrity chefs, and his recipes reflect the Creole influence of his second home in New Orleans. Mitcham's co-workers characterized him as 'a true bohemian' and 'a great art lover' and so well read that there wasn't a literary or mythical reference he didn't know." The praise of Mitcham and his book is universal.

The chef will immerse you in Provincetown's seafaring
heritage with stories of fishermen, and a sense of humor.

The cover illustration was done by the late, great Jackson Lambert, with line drawings inside done by Mitcham himself. Classic recipes like "Haddock Almondine Meuniere" still hold up, and the right way to perfectly cook a lobster has never been improved upon, so I highly recommend this book, for great recipes and techniques, and for a bit of Provincetown history, as well as some fine, evocative story telling.

Find the recipe for that haddock, and more stories about the chef, at Food for Thought, a delightful blog written by Heather Atwood, who also pens a weekly column by the same name, syndicated in Massachusetts newspapers.

If you want to add this great book to your collection you can look for an older, more valuable one, or search for months, as I did, till I found a lovely, beaten up old copy for 25 bucks. I had given my copy to my in-laws in the early 1990s, and had been looking to replace it ever since.

I highly recommend this Provincetown treasure for so many reasons, and you can get it very easily at the Provincetown Bookshop, at 246 Commercial Street, where a new copy of the most current edition (was that 1997?) is $50. That's the best price I've seen in more than two years. You may also find an edition or two at Tim's Used Books, tucked away up the footpath at 242 Commercial.

The 1976 edition is currently listed used on Amazon for $150, new for $180, and months ago they announced that they were taking advance orders for the new 2016 edition, with a promised publishing date of April 16th, with a guaranteed, pre-order price of $16.95, to be shipped for free as soon as the new edition is released. I looked for it today online, and can only find various vintage editions, new and used, ranging from $59 to $1200. The folks at Provincetown Bookshop could find no information on a pending new edition. Has it already sold out again, or does it remain out of print?

Either way, it's worth your trouble, and a bit of cash, or a look through Grandma's attic, to find yourself a copy for a good read, and some great recipes. Take a look when you walk by a yard sale, and you may run across this genuine taste of Provincetown. Bon appétit!

Sail Aboard a Tall Ship, the Kalmar Nyckel, While She's in Provincetown

Today's Kalmar Nyckel under full sail.

You have just about another week to get out on the water aboard a remarkable tall ship, the Kalmar Nyckel. This ship is a recreation of the 141 foot full-rigged Dutch pinnace built in 1625. The city of Kalmar, Sweden, purchased the ship in 1628 as its contribution to the Royal Swedish Navy, and when the Swedish government decided to establish a trading colony in the New World, the Kalmar Nyckel was chosen to make the voyage, arriving in the area we know today as Wilmington, Deleware, in 1638. Fort Christina was built and a trading colony was established under the leadership of Peter Minuit.
This recreation of that historic ship was launched in 1997, and it now visits Provincetown for a couple of weeks each summer as it sails along the eastern seaboard visiting a number of ports before it returns home to Deleware in the autumn. Visit their website at www.kalmarnyckel.org for more information on this remarkable ship and the colorful history of the original Kalmar Nyckel.
While in Provincetown, this beautiful tall ship makes two sails daily (except Saturdays and Wednesdays) with a trip in the morning and one in the afternoon. The trip is about a three hour voyage around Provincetown Harbor, out into Cape Cod Bay, and out into the Atlantic Ocean. Passengers are invited to learn to listen for specific commands from the captain and to help to pull the ropes and raise the sails, if they'd care to. Many will try their hand at it, while other passengers are content to let others do all the work while they simply enjoy the trip.
Something new this year is the Pirate Sail, on specific trips, where the crew dresses in pirate garb, and guests are encouraged to dress up as well. Adults will enjoy a history talk, and kids will hear a pirate story and have a chance to help raise the Jolly Roger. See the sail and tour schedule of the Kalmar Nyckel to book a sail. Their last trips from PTown for this year will be on Sunday, July 27th. Adult fares are $60, kids 17 and under are $40. That may sound a bit pricey, but I've taken the trip and found it to be such a remarkable experience that I want to do it again. I might take the Pirate Sail this time...
At the very least, you'll want to walk down to the far end of MacMillan Pier and have a good look at this splendid tall ship. Its quite impressive, and I highly recommend going for a sail. When will you get another chance to get out on the water on a tall ship?
Bon voyage!

Today Marks 194th Anniversary of Sea Serpent Sighting Near Race Point in 1819

Now 35 years old, this mural could use a touch-up, but still tells
a fascinating story of Provincetown's colorful seafaring history.

194 years ago today, on June 6^th of 1819, Captain Hawkins Wheeler and his crew, sailing out of Fairfield, Connecticut on the sloop Concord, were off the shoreline of Race Point when they spotted something startling in Provincetown’s waters. Recounting the sighting later, the captain and crew described a sea serpent that had risen out of the water some 200 feet from the ship. The men claimed to have seen a large head rising about eight feet out of the water, resembling that of a horse, complete with something akin to a horse’s mane, atop a long, bumpy, snake-like neck. The sky was clear, the weather fair and the waters calm, so the men were convinced that the animal they had seen was not some sort of illusion. Their story would still be easy to write off as a mirage if it hadn’t been for nearly identical sightings described by hundreds of other New Englanders over a number of years, both on the land and the sea.

I wrote about this sighting and many others in my first post on this blog, nearly a year ago. Click to read Public Art Meets PTown Legend to learn about a sea serpent spotted from Provincetown to Gloucester, and even reported off the shores of Norway in newspapers and magazines of the day. Captain Wheeler’s sighting is depicted in the seventeen-foot mural adorning the outdoor seating area at Mojo’s restaurant, found at number 5 on the Ryder Street Extension, around the corner from Town Hall, near the bus plaza. Get something great for lunch or supper at Mojo's and eat it at a picnic table on their patio while you contemplate local artist Bill Evaul’s 1978 mural depicting this folk tale that, as it turns out, could well have been a true story.

Frank Cook's Big Fish, Caught Near Provincetown's Wood End, c.1910

The black-and-white photo of Frank Cook posing with his 270 pound halibut, c.1910,
was later turned into one of the most popular postcards of the next few decades, shown above.

Somewhere around the year 1910, Frank Cook was out one day in his little dory, fishing with a hand-held line, off the shoreline beyond Wood End. That's out beyond the spit of sand you'll find winding its way around the harbor if you walk out on the breakwater in the West End, toward Wood End Light. This spot got its name, by the way, because when the Pilgrims arrived here in 1620, that's where the woods ended. There were groves of trees and thickly forested areas found in spots all over the cape in those early days, and the forest in Provincetown came right down to the edge of the beach in that spot. 

So Frank was out in Cape Cod Bay, which lies beyond that bit of sand that runs between Wood End and Long Point. He was by himself, dangling a hand-held line from his dory and hoping for a fish to come along. Not all fishermen of the day sailed off with a crew on a large boat. There were many who fished from their own small dories and skiffs, seldom ranging far from the shoreline, since Provincetown is surrounded by deep waters. Good-sized fish were sometimes found quite near the beaches.

When he felt a tug on his line Frank began to pull it in, but he must have been startled as he realized what was on the other end of that line. It turns out a lumbering, 270 pound halibut had taken Frank's bait!

Alone in his boat, Frank somehow managed to land his catch, pulling a fish twice his size into his tiny craft. His dory must have been a "double-ender," having a pointed bow on either end, because hauling a fish that size over the side of a boat with a square stern would likely have swamped the boat. Once his catch was landed, Frank rowed more than five miles around Long Point and into the harbor, heading for a place equipped to handle such an enormous fish. When it had been unloaded and hoisted up to weigh it, Frank posed for this picture standing next to his halibut, holding the hand-line he had used to haul in the fish.

That black-and-white photo eventually evolved into a hand-colored post card that was very popular in PTown souvenir and gift shops for about 50 years, until the newfangled "chrome" style of glossy color photo cards began springing up in local shops in the 1960s. But these old-fashioned, hand-tinted photo post cards are still among those most prized by collectors today. And this is a fish folks still talk about.

Public Art Meets PTown Legend

This past week, on my day off, I visited Mojo's for their guacamole taco (vegetarian, about 3 bucks and delish!) and spent a few reverent moments celebrating the 193rd anniversary of the sighting of the sea serpent by Captain Hawkins Wheeler, in local waters, on June 6th, 1819.
I ate my lunch sitting at one of the picnic tables on the covered patio behind Mojo's, quietly contemplating the seventeen-foot mural that wraps around the corner of this venerable institution which has been serving up tasty, inexpensive eats to Townies and tourists alike for forty years. In 1978, famed local artist Bill Evaul painted Mojo's exterior wall with his impression of the serpent described by the old sea captain in this epic P'Town legend.
Captain Wheeler and his crew were aboard the sloop Concord, out of Fairfield, Connecticut, sailing off the western shore of Provincetown near Race Point, when they saw the horse-shaped head of a serpent rise about eight feet out of the water. It was a calm day, and fine weather, so they had a good view of the creature, which they saw only fourteen rods (about 230 feet) from the vessel. This sea serpent turns out to have been spotted by many sailors over a number of years, according to The Atlantic Monthly. An article written by J. G. Wood in June of 1884 chronicles sightings over many years of what seems to have been the very same creature, with accounts reported and sworn to by legions of reliable and sober citizens over a stretch of a number of years.

A similar sighting had occurred near Gloucester on June 20th, 1815, about a quarter of a mile out into the harbor, and the Gloucester Telegraph reported a sighting that had occurred on August 18th, 1817, from a distance of only thirty feet. A year later, in August of 1818, the creature was near the shore for a period of a couple of weeks, and "multitudes of spectators" gathered to watch it. Unbeknownst to Captain Wheeler, when he saw the serpent, it, or a close relative, had been seen by hundreds of people including ministers and marshals as well as a good many seafaring men. All had given a similar description, including the head shaped like that of a horse.

Descriptions over the years also mentioned dark eyes the size of dinner plates, and something resembling a horse's mane on the head. In 1833 to 1835, articles about several sightings appeared in the Boston papers and the New York Times. When I googled "Race Point sea serpent" I found several links. If you find these stories intriguing, you may want to get a copy of The Great Sea Serpent, available as an e-book, and chock full of sea monsters, like the one mentioned on page 195, spotted about nine miles offshore from the Race Point lighthouse in April of 1835.

Read a couple of paragraphs about another local serpent of a slightly different description spotted off the shores of Provincetown in 1875 at this link to a book called The Great New England Sea Serpent. It's great to be able to go to sites like google and read a bit of the book to decide whether to buy it. I almost always buy any book I can find about PTown lore and the endless array of "characters" that have shaped its colorful history.
I also found a Cape Cod history and genealogy site that led me to a report by Capt. Robert Platt, U. S. coast and geodetic survey which even includes a drawing of what he and his crew saw that day in 1878. And I found a YouTube video called The Great Provincetown Sea Serpent Story! featuring some local folks who mention a serpent spotted in Provincetown Harbor by a relative of Ben Franklin in the early seventeen hundreds. They also stage a tongue-in-cheek re-enactment of the 1886 sighting of a much larger monster seen by the Town Crier of that day, one George Washington Ready, who swore that he was "not unduly excited by liquor or otherwise" at the time of the sighting. To read more about Ready's serpent, and many other Provincetown stories and legends, look for a book in the Provincetown Public Library, written by Herman Jennings and published in 1890, called Provincetown, or, Odds and Ends from the Tip End. Click this link to go to an Amazon.com listing for used copies of the paperback version of this book published in 1975. There you can read several pages from the book. I just ordered a copy myself a few minutes ago.
So, you see, there have been many sightings of serpents off the shores of Provincetown over the years. Next time you're hungry, stop by Mojo's at 5 Ryder Street Extension, near the bus plaza. Order something tasty and take it around back to the patio, where you'll find this mural of a Provincetown legend. It was painted more than thirty years ago, on a cinder block wall, so it could use a little touch-up, but it's definitely worth a look. Spend a few minutes enjoying Provincetown's wonderful tradition of supporting public art, like Bill Evaul's whimsical depiction of the Race Point Sea Serpent of 1819.