All we know of Val Miller is that for thirty-six years he worked as a skilled ice cream maker for commercial businesses, or he ran his own. His book is filled with advice for operating such a business, from running the front office, to employee relations, to manufacturing and marketing, including many recipes for a wide variety of ice creams. The recipes are compiled for large quantities suitable to a commercial operation but can be used by home cooks as well.

This edition of Thirty-Six Years an Ice Cream Maker by Val Millerwas reproduced by permission from the volume in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1812 by Isaiah Thomas, a Revolutionary War patriot and successful printer and publisher, the Society is a research library documenting the life of Americans from the colonial era through 1876. The Society collects, preserves, and makes available as complete a record as possible of the printed materials from the early American experience. The cookbook collection includes approximately 1,100 volumes.