After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire , references to Abby Fisher and her cookbook all but disappeared before a copy of the book resurfaced again at a Sotheby 's auction in New York City in 1984 . The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library at Harvard University purchased the book , and Applewood Books reprinted it the next year , in 1985 . At the time , Mrs. Fisher was thought to have written " The First African-American Cookbook , " but Malinda Russell 's older cookbook was rediscovered in the years following publication
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Abby Fisher