The American Menu

1842-1894   New York was already a rapidly growing city by 1800, with its 60,000 residents concentrated in Lower Manhattan. By the close of ...

1937 The history of takeout food dates back to ancient times, when street vendors sold ready-to-eat meals. Archaeological evidence reveals e...

1920-1930  The Roaring Twenties are remembered in France as les Années folles , “the crazy years,” when Paris was the hub of intellectual li...

1922 After the First World War, Americans travelled to France in ever increasing numbers. Five menus from the steamship Lafayette  in 1922  ...

“America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and  New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.”   – Tennessee Williams  In the lat...

1902-1909 A little over two decades ago, staffers for an incoming president searched for White House menus from the turn of the last century...

The White House,  1885  President Chester A. Arthur was a tall and fashionably-dressed metropolitan who enjoyed the finer things in life. On...

New York City, 1895 The most entertaining thing for the average person attending an America’s Cup race is perhaps the food and drink. Once i...

New York City,  1881  Schedler’s High Bridge Hotel was located in Washington Heights, the highest and northernmost part of Manhattan. The ho...

1904-1931  The advent of the postcard provided the hospitality industry with innovative ways to advertise. One of the unique formats that em...