OK, I admit....I think my earliest Wilton Book is from '65.

So what about all the other magazines we all probably have stashed somewhere, cc'ers??? C'mon...you've all gotta have at least as much as I do! When we downsized and moved to the smaller house 3 years ago, I had several boxes crammed with Mailbox News mags from who-knows-when, and every copy of ACD since it began, plus every Wilton wedding book, etc that they published, ICES newsletters from 1992 to present, and enough assorted cake books to form a small library!!

I think my local library will be well stocked someday!

1971

My oldest yearbook is 1977 a year or two after I got interested in decorating... but my oldest Wilton book is from 1954. I love to go back to those books for ideas that can be updated. I admit it I'm a cake nerd

Let me just say......

Maid of Scandanavia..... from the 50's!!

Almost every yearbook and just last week picked up Celebrate II on Ebay for 9.99 and almost have all of them! Ebay was a killer on my pocket for the last few years.... I just type in CAKE book and see what happens... I got a few from England and Australia that way!

I started decorating in 1990 and I bought all the books I could, so the earliest is 1988.

ya, just try and find some locally!! Our library has a HUGE book bonanza every year... and I went on Saturday, like I do every year-- and NOWHERE in sight was any kind of cake book! Not a decorating book, a wilton book or a magazine in sight... I get so bummed out every year because I can never get to the 'advance' showing on friday night.... I feel that that's when they all sell!!

I never did buy many of the Wilton Year Books. I did start getting "Mail Box News" in April of 1977 and received it for 3 years. I still have all of those. I got it mostly because they told what cake shows were coming up. They used to do cake shows in the malls then and they were a lot of fun to go to.
I too used to buy a lot of supplies from "Maid of Scandanavia". I didn't save the catalogs though.

I do have a "Celebrate VI" from 1980. I bought it because it had a lot of cakes in it, using the "People Molds". I still have my original set of people molds. They made really neat looking cake toppers but were too time consuming for me.

mine is 1972, Have been collecting the older books on Ebay, I have the Wilton Way of cake Decorating Vol. 3 and A Celebrate V. Started trying to learn to do some of that string and bridge work in the older books.

To those CC'rs who do the string work ....My hat's off to you. It has to be the hardest technique I have tried to teach my self.

1977 - I've picked up most of mine for quarters from library sales, "friends of the library" stores, and used bookstores.

Oh, sorry, CakePro,.. . I misread that...

Forgive me for being "young" (although 33 ISN'T young in my books...)and ignorant, but what is Lambeth style??? Never heard of this before...

OK...call me old. My aunt gave me the Wilton 1954 Homemaker's PE of Modern cake Decorating. I also have some Wilton Lessons from the McCalls Magazine (circa 1955). I have Baker's (Coconut) Cut-up cakes from 1967-68 and Wilton's Wonderland of Cake Decorating from 1970 (where techniques of gumpaste and chocolate molding are explained). My oldest Wilton Yearbook is 1970-71 and I have all the Celebrate Magazines and Yearbooks (Early to mid-seventies). In the meantime I also subscribed to Mailbox News from 1975-1978. Believe me, it is a lot easier to gather information nowadays! You younger decorators should feel very fortunate to have a resource such as CC so easily accessible! Thanks CC!

My oldest yearbook is from 1970. I have all of the pattern books for them, too. I am missing a few and still looking for them. I like to look through them. I do keep them together with their pattern book in plastic.

I treat them like my brother treats comic books

I have collected all the Wilton Yearbooks. I also have most of the Mailbox News. I have a few missing from the first few years. Mailbox news started back in the mid 50's. The older ones are my favorites. I also have all the American Cake Decorating that have been published. I agree with the buttercream issue. A decorated cake has to be in buttercream for me. It it what I like to eat and make.

Can anyone tell me when ACD and Mailbox news started publishing?

And when did Wilton start their yearbooks? 1965? Can't remember what I read, and now I don't want to go look for it...

the oldest yearbook that i have is 1970 (red cover).

i started collecting them on ebay a couple of weeks ago and i am on the looking for 3 yearbooks from the 70's and all from the 80's.

i also have all of the Celebrate publications (and pattern books) except the Omnibus one.

i love looking through those books. even though some of the designs are gaudy (i mean, how many bells, birds and cherubs do you need on one cake), they can easily be "modernised". they are also great for newbies who want to hone their skills on sheet cakes and novelty pans.

Here is the one quick link I could find (running late to get to work) with a brief explanation and an example cake: http://www.winbeckler.com/cakes-marshas.asp

I'll google more for ya later.

Thanks, CakePro., that's some ornate cakin'!!! I love the cocoa painting!

okay, how do you copy part of someone's quote and then respond? Can't figure that out!!!!!! URG!!!

I think the earliest i have is 1999. That is probably because that is when i really started concentrating on making cakes. I use to collect them every year up until around 2005 and i stopped buying them. Initally they totally inspired me and i couldn't wait until the newest edition came out. Now i find the yearbooks tend to have the same old stuff in them year after year and majorily push the wilton products. I do look back every so often for inspiration, and to look at their tips guide towards the back of the book but honestly now that i've found a few really good cake forums i find so much more inspiration on them, and i can save my money. The yearbooks are pricey.
PJ..those pics are sooo cool to see. I would love it if those of you who have really old yearbooks would scan a photo of one of the cakes represented in the yearbook so we can see what the style of cake was in that particular year, it's sooo cool to see.

suz

I'm so glad this thread got started! It got me curious as to what I have and yes I do look through them often, but didn't pay attention to the dates that much.
So here's my collection:
Yearbooks 1976 and 1977, Celebrate! III (hardback), The Rose, A Treasury of Wilton Wedding Cakes (can't find a date) ~ these were all given to me as gifts,
I've purchased:
Yearbooks 1992-1994, 1996, 1999, 2007-2008 and Cucpake Fun
OK, so now y'all have me wanting to go on ebay and buy every possible Wilton publication I can find that I don't have!!

I inherited most of my collection from DH's aunt. I also inherited her KA and lots of tips and pans. That's what finally got me off of my tush and made me act of cakes instead of always talking about it....

Anyway, I have 1970-2009 and I as well as my kids love to look through them all the time...

I had originally started buying the yearbooks in 2005, but last year I went on an eBay shopping spree and found 1973-2004!

I would still love to find 1968-1972 sometime, but they seem to be nearly impossible to find these days.

The first year book is 73. All others were catalogs, made that way. I have all year books and pattern books plus 40 + others that wilton has put out. That is not counting the 100 + other sugar books that I have collected. Love them all and still adding to my library.