Menus
Menus, often referred to as a 'Bills-of-fare,' provide documentation of
the changes in dining habits over the past two centuries. The creation of
the restaurant and hotel, around 1830, helped with the emergence of the
menu. Menus are believed to have gotten their start, as handwritten
instructions for the kitchen staff, which may have been referenced by the
host and guests before dining at the table. Another early use for menus
was by guests, who were being served a meal of several courses from a
sidetable, and who viewed their meal options in advance.
Menus are an excellent source for charting change over time in the
fashions of eating and dining. They show the types of food prepared and
served, as well as the number of courses a typical meal
included. Restaurant menus are important because they provide pricing
information.
Menus were printed in several styles and on a variety of materials, from
paper to silk. Menu styles ranged from the very simple to the very ornate
with fancy decorations and illustrations.
The American Antiquarian Society's collection of approximately 400 menus
range in date from 1824-1876. It includes menus and Bills-of-fare from
restaurants in New England towns and other large cities, including the
Tremont House in Boston; Atlantic House in Rye, NH; Sherman House in
Chicago; and the Bay State House in Worcester. There are also menus for
food served at special occasion dinners, such as a dinner for Charles
Dickens held in New York City in 1842. The collection is housed in two
boxes, and is arranged chronologically.
Other menus are catalogued and can be found in the broadsides collection,
and bound in the institutions collection.
-Terri Tremblay, Assistant Curator of Graphic Arts
Source: Rickards, Maurice, The Encyclopedia of Ephemera. New
York: Routledge, 2000.
|
Menu for a Boston restaurant, the Tremont House, from 1854
Menu for dinner held in honor Charles Dickens at the City Hotel,
New York, in 1843
* Menu
inventory
For current information on the cataloging status of this and
other AAS collections, choose "Collection Access" below.
|
|
