The American Menu

Iowa & New York, 1889  In the 1967 movie The Graduate , Mr. McGuire gives young Benjamin some unsolicited career advice:  Mr. Mc...

Henry County, Iowa 1878  Menus from small dinners in private venues during the nineteenth century are few and far between. They seem t...

Long Beach, ca. 1941  This elegant, scallop-edged menu comes from the fabled Sky Room in the old Hilton Hotel in Long Beach, Californi...

1865-1903  The Presidential Range comprises seven mountains—all named for U.S. presidents—situated within the picturesque White Mountai...

Thanksgiving,  1943  Norman Rockwell painted this iconic scene in 1943. Depicting a family dinner on Thanksgiving, the painting “Freed...

When I look at this menu from the late 1960s, I can’t help but imagine what it would’ve been like if the English writer Virginia Woolf, and...

Boston,  1892  Any document relating to an early African-American union is a rarity, such as this menu from a ball held by the Tremont...

Akron, Ohio 1885  T his menu from a veteran’s reunion in Akron, Ohio in 1885 features an unusual dinner based solely on the basic rati...

S.S. Liberté,  1959  The great luxury liners were never more glamorous and exciting than on the day of departure. As passengers arrive...

Neuilly-sur-Seine , 1915-1917  A hundred years ago this week, Serbian nationalists assassinated the heir to the throne of Austria-Hung...