The auction house was selling the ocean-liner menu covers as works of art. And they did closely resemble the vintage lithographs I had come across by named and unnamed artists on the auction tables.
These were illustrations of birds and butterflies, French women and Christmas cheer. But the most lovely of them were menu covers with what looked like a Mexican-oriented theme from the Moore-MacCormack Lines. (I learned later that the company ran ships to South America, so these were likely images from those countries.)
These two menus were so good that they were worth framing. The colors were brilliant and the subjects were captivating. The artist had wonderfully captured the vibrancy of the people. The covers were obviously done at a time when things like this mattered. You’re not likely to find such artwork on today’s cruise-line menus.
They were folder types – about four pages each, some with inside sheets – from the American South African Line, the French line (Compagnie Generale Transatlantique) and the Italian Line’s SS Leonard Da Vinci. They all appeared to be from the 1940s.
What I found just as fascinating as the artwork were the menus themselves. This was a glimpse into the food choices of the past and I was curious about what was being served.
Moore-MacCormack was offering a 13-course menu on this Sunday, Oct. 5, 1941, in the tourist cabin. Here’s some of it:
Soups: Potage Wellington, Cold Beef Bouillon in Cup
Broiled Filet of Haddock, Maitre d’Hotel, Coleslaw
Calf’s Sweetbread, Pineapple Fitters, Fresh Spring Vegetable Plate
Prime Ribs of Beef Au Jus, Philadelphia Capon-Thyme Dressing-Cranberry Sauce
Green Asparagus Tips Au Gratin, Smothered Bavarian Cabbage
Pont Neuf, Boiled New & Candied Sweet Potatoes
Assorted Cold Cuts, Spanish Salad
Hearts of Lettuce, Sliced Tomato
Vienna Nut Pudding, Butter Cream Layer Cake, Compote of Cherries, Biscuit Tortoni Ice Cream-Wafers
Back them, according to the website oceanliner.com, menu covers were printed beforehand and the menu pages were left blank. Aboard ship, the chef and staff would fill in that day’s menu along with the date, and print them on the ship. There were also menus for special occasions and private parties.
The menus were apparently kept as souvenirs of the journey, and according to the site – which was selling them for $10 to $60 each – are collectible. An Antiques Roadshow episode from 2004 showed a man who had found a 1912 luncheon menu from the Titanic on the day it struck the iceberg. The menu was on the back of an old painting. It was appraised at $75,000 to $100,000. Those, however, are rare.
Here’s an FAQ on ocean-liner memorabilia, including an explanation of the difference between an ocean liner ( it was the mode of travel to get you to your destination, where you’d settle) and a cruise ship (it took you from port to port for relaxation or a vacation. Then you’d return home).
Ocean liners or steamships were “the” way to travel for more than a century before airplanes made their debut. The golden age for such travel was the period between the late 1900s to World War II.
The lines were first formed to deliver mail across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to North America. Canadian businessman Samuel Cunard’s Brittania was the first ship to carry both the mail and passengers when it embarked on its maiden voyage in 1840 from Liverpool to Boston. Cunard would become one of the best known shipping lines in the world, with its flagship Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth 2. The company boasts of having ferried some of the world’s most famous people to and from Europe (including Pearl Bailey and Ella Fitzgerald). Here are some vintage photos from the early ocean liners.
In 1870, the White Star Line set sail with a ship that provided first class cabins with large portholes, running water and electricity.
The rich were not the only ones who used the lines to get from here to there, but the menus at auction were the embodiment of the good life associated with them.
At auction, the menus drew some hefty bidding but one woman seemed to get all of them, which appeared to be someone’s collection.
The two Moore-MacCormack menus went for $30. The birds: $15. The butterflies (3 of them): $25. French Line (3): $30. American South African line (3) with simple covers, $12.50.
During the auction, a staffer read the text on the cover of a 1941 menu for a holiday dinner aboard the American South African Line. “Wishing you a Happy New Year,” she said. “Except for us,” my auction buddy Janet whispered to me. She was right. People who looked like us were not sitting in that room that day celebrating the coming of 1942.
The menu sold for $7.50. Another of its Christmas menus from 1940 that was among a group of four also sold for $7.50.
