Menu Collections
- 1850s and 1860s Hotel and Restaurant Menus, University of Houston These mid-nineteenth century menus located in the Hospitality Industry Archives at the Hilton College of the University of Houston reveal a treasure trove of historical information. The menus relate not only the regional cuisine of the particular restaurant but also show some of the cultural and social norms of society. The menus are from hotel restaurants, stand-alone restaurants, and steamships.
- Culinary Institute of America Menu Collection The Culinary Institute of America’s special collection of over 40,000 historical menus includes menus from CIA restaurants and donations from major menu collectors, including George Lang, Chapman S. Root, Vinnie Oakes, and Roy Andries de Groot. Assembled over decades, the collection illustrates the history of dining in America and abroad, with menus from all of the states and over 80 countries, as well as ships, railroads and airlines.
- Los Angeles Public Library Menu Collection. A database of menus from Los Angeles, other cities, steamships, airlines and banquets. Images of the actual menus are being added. The address and telephone number of the restaurant is given, plus the menu date, cuisine type, meal, and price range.
- National Restaurant Association Menu Collection, Johnson & Wales University These menus are part of a collection that was donated to Johnson & Wales University Library by the National Restaurant Association. Many of the menus featured were part of their menu design contests in the 1980s and 1990s.
- Menu Collection of the Northwestern University Transportation Library The menu collection comprises over 400 menus from 54 national and international airline carriers, cruise ships, and railroad companies, dating from 1929 to the present, with a particular focus on mid-to-late 20th century air transportation. The menus preserve a glimpse of the golden age of air travel in which fine dining, fine wines, and thoughtful design created a passenger experience of mystique and allure.
- Menus: The Art of Dining, UNLV Libraries, Special Collections The majority of menus selected for this digital project came from the Bohn-Bettoni Collection, which consists of approximately 2000 restaurant menus dating from 1870-1930.
- Menus at the Nobel Banquet The Nobel Banquet is held every year on 10 December to celebrate the years Nobel Laureates. Each Banquet has included a unique menu for the guests. Have a peek of the menus below – from the start in 1901 up until today.
- Menus Collection, University of Washington This collection represents menus, placemats, and other graphic materials from many of the Puget Sound area's most famous restaurants and dining facilities in the years between 1889 and 2003. Restaurants in all styles and classes of trade are represented, from lunch counters to first class gourmet fare. Also included in the collection are travel-related menus from ships, railroads, and airplanes.
- What's on the Menu? Help Transcribe the NYPL Menu Collection We’re transcribing our historical restaurant menus, dish by dish, so that they can be searched by what people were eating back in the day. It’s a big job so we need your help!
