Vintage Menus: Part I (1955)

My mother and her family took a family trip during the summer of 1950, and at some point along the line, it was decided to save the menus from this trip. Rescued from a haul to the dump, these wonderful menus from restaurants and other eating establishments across the country are a unique view into the style and design of the 1950s. In our first segment, we will feature The 4-B's Cafe, The Domeliner of Portland, Carder's, Childs, and the Sheraton Cafe Cadillac.

The 4-B's Cafe, "Original Home of the Guaranteed Steak," was a staple of downtown Helena, Montana for over 30 years. Helena as She Was has a wonderful set of photos on their site.

The Domeliner of Portland was the name of the Union Pacific Railroad train that went from Seattle, Washington to Chicago, Illinois. Here we have the dining menu and the beverage service menu.

Carder's appears to have been a restaurant in Chicago, Illinois, though I can find no information about it. The menu is dated "Thursday, June 16, 1955".

Childs appears to have been a steak house in Boston, Massachusetts, though I can also find no information about it. I especially love the cover with the filet mignon -- looks better than Denny's, that's for sure!

The Sheraton Cafe Cadillac was located in the Book-Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, Michigan. This was undoubtedly acquired on the family trip to pick up their new Cadillac car.

I hope you enjoy these! Stay tuned for more! As always, click through for full-sized versions.

AGS Around the World Program: Series Overview (1950s)

Welcome to the series overview for the American Geographical Society's Around the World Program, a wonderful set of books published in the 1950s discussing various countries across the globe. How I acquired this set is discussed in my first post, but as I've now added all ten volumes in my possesion, it's now time to give all these posts a hub for the many links associated with these illustrations. From now on, this will be the starting point for the Around the World Program books, and should I acquire more, I'll add them here as well.

Summary: Book Covers
Summary: Title Pages

Illustrations: Belgian Congo (1958)
Illustrations: Burma (1959)
Illustrations: France (1956)
Illustrations: Iran (1958)
Illustrations: Malaya (1958)
Illustrations: Pakistan (1958)
Illustrations: Russia (1958)
Illustrations: Scandinavian Countries (1958)
Illustrations: Surinam (1958)
Illustrations: Virgin Islands (1958)

Batman LP Cover Illustrations (1966)

Like most kids, I group up on the staples of Batman and Superman from the DC Comics world. Once the TV show got popular, lots of bands recorded versions of Batman songs, and the "Dan and Dale" album from 1966 is one of the more memorable, especially in light of the fact that it was a studio album including member of Sun Ra and Al Cooper's bands. The original cover featured these five great illustrations -- I have no idea who did them -- but I thought they belonged here.

AGS Around the World Program: Book Covers (1950s)

Here's a round-up post of all the covers from the American Geographical Society Around the World Program books. Clearly done by the same illustrator, these covers unfortunately have no credit as to who did these magnificent maps. Feel free to read my first post on the AGS Around the World Program if you'd like more information about these books and where they came from. Enjoy these wonderful illustrations and click through for full-sized images.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

AGS Around the World Program: Title Pages (1950s)

Here's a round-up post of all the title pages from the American Geographical Society Around the World Program books. Of the ten volumes that I own, only one doesn't have an illustration on the cover pages, the volume on Scandinavian Countries. Feel free to read my first post on the AGS Around the World Program if you'd like more information about these books and where they came from. Enjoy these wonderful illustrations and click through for full-sized images.