The American Menu

Augusta, Maine 1858 When the first transatlantic telegraph cable was pulled ashore in 1858, celebrations erupted across the United S...

1885-1897 The gentleman on this advertising card declares, “Yes Miss, when traveling, I always drink Van Houten’s Cocoa. It is so susta...

New York City,  1882 Valentine’s Day was wildly popular in the late nineteenth century, reflecting the values of a society that prize...

New York City,  1841-1860 One of the underlying themes of American ephemera is the rise of the middle class. T he overall standard of...

Boston,  1849-1851 Tremont House - Boston (ca.1838) Hotels are so ubiquitous that it is easy to forget that they were once a novel c...

New York City,  1887 New York was, after Berlin and Vienna, the third largest German-populated city in the world in the late nineteen...

New York City,  ca. 1956 Irving Berlin published his first song in 1907 and four years later, Alexander’s Ragtime Band became his...

Ellis Island,  1923 ...“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your tee...

Boston 1909-1927 The “deafening drone of vuvuzelas” won’t be heard at the 127th football game between Harvard and Yale this weekend. Ac...

Cunard Line, 1856 English railroad magnate Henry Pease, growing weary at the end of an eleven-day voyage across the Atlantic in 1856...