Revere House ... Dinner for the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company ... 1853. Catalog record
Menus are an excellent source for charting change over time in the fashions of eating and dining. They show the types of food prepared and served, as well as the number of courses a typical meal included. Menus began as handwritten instructions for kitchen and serving staff. The creation of the hotel restaurant, around 1830, helped with the emergence of the printed menu. These were used by guests, who were served a meal of several courses, and could view their meal options in advance.
Businesses, clubs, Masonic lodges, military groups all printed menus for special events which often included ornate catered meals.
The Society's collection of approximately 400 menus range in date from 1824 into the early 1900s.
Access
The collection is fully digitized and cataloged online in the General Catalog. Select the "scanned image available here" link available in each card's catalog record to view images.
Resources
Books for Cooks: Highlights from the AAS Cookbook Collection
What's on the Menu? resource at the New York Public Library
The American Menu (blog by Henry B. Voight)