What’s in a Name? Everything.

San Francisco, 

1900-1908 

By 1900, Chinese restaurants were beginning to attract American-born middle-class diners. This shift occurred gradually as restaurant owners created dishes such as chop suey and chow mein to suit American tastes. Over time, these adaptations led to the addition of so-called “American dishes” to their menus. Two menus from a well-known Chinese restaurant in San Francisco, printed during the first years of the twentieth century, capture a pivotal moment in this transition. The restaurant changed a single letter in its name, signaling that it was now targeting a new, broader clientele. 

The Age of Confidence

Buffalo, New York 

1901 

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the United States. The semiquincentennial of American independence invites both celebration and reflection on the nation's past. In this essay, we return to the year 1901, which now stands at the midpoint of the country’s history. The nineteenth century witnessed the development of the telegraph, railroad, and telephone, fostering optimism about a future that seemed destined to benefit all citizens. Writer Henry Allen called the first decade of the twentieth century “The Age of Confidence,” when “Teddy Roosevelt busted the trusts, started digging the Panama Canal, and sent the Great White Fleet around the world.” Six menu cards with beautiful illustrations of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo capture the confident spirit and optimism of the age. 

Edith Wharton

The customs and social codes of the Gilded Age were portrayed by Edith Wharton (1862–1937) who drew on her firsthand knowledge of upper-class society. Born in 1862, she was the daughter of George Frederic Jones, whose wealthy family is said to have inspired the phrase “keeping up with the Joneses.” Beginning in 1880, Wharton became an active participant in New York high society. She closely observed its rituals and later wove them into her novels and stories. Among these traditions were lavish formal dinners, where menus served as markers of social standing and symbols of sophistication and pride. The following quotations from Wharton’s novels are paired with small menu cards from private residences in the late nineteenth century. Together, they offer a window into this now-vanished world. (Scroll over images for descriptions of the menus.)