"A sigma meant there was samba dancing."

June 12, 2012 8:28 PM

"Robert Browning Sosman, a physical chemist who died in 1967 at the age of 86, packed many careers into one lifetime. He wrote the definitive book on the chemical compound silica; was the seventh person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail; and, at home in New Jersey, kept a 3,500-strong map collection. He also made a 'significant contribution to the New York dining scene:" his Gustavademecum

Ceramics Expert Robert B. Sosman, Wins Annual Bleininger Award, The Westfield (N.J.) Leader, Thursday, January 29, 1953

posted by the man of twists and turns (3 comments total)

Oh man I'd love to be able to read Gusta online. "A single copy is tucked away in a geological texts cabinet at Yale". It is almost surely in the public domain, either because it was published w/out Copyright notice, or he did not renew the copyright. My family owned one of the restaurants listed in the index, closed in the early 60s. I'd like to see what his cryptic symbols mean and how he rated it.
posted by stbalbach at 8:53 PM on June 12, 2012 [1 favorite]

The catalog listing for the lone copy, in the Yale University library.

Apparently published on St. Theodotus' Day, 1959.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 8:58 PM on June 12, 2012

There's a couple of pages of the Gustavademecum here stbalbach, you may be lucky.
posted by unliteral at 9:48 PM on June 12, 2012