Coupon Cookery

Coupon Cookery was written in 1943 by “Prudence Penny.” I put Ms. Penny in quotations, because she was not just one person, but dozens. Beginning in 1920, “Prudence Penny” was the food columnist featured in Hearst newspapers across the country, which included the New York Daily Mirror, where Florence Richardson worked as Ms. Penny. Richardson was probably the Prudence Penny who wrote Coupon Cookery. Unfortunately, there is little information on Richardson. However, what is a Hearst newspaper? A Hearst newspaper is a newspaper that was under the control of the legendary William Randolph Hearst and his media company. Hearst entered the world of printing in 1887 by becoming the proprietor of the San Francisco Examiner. By the 1920s, Hearst’s (now 28) newspapers accounted for almost 25% of American newspaper readership. Among his innovations to printing were the first comics in color. Hearst and his company also published magazines, such as Good Housekeeping, and later branched out to newsreels, radio, and TV.  (kennesaw.edu)