As we approach Christmas, many companies are starting to have their annual Christmas parties.

Back in 1906 the Hollenbeck Hotel was located at the southwest corner of Spring and Second Street in Los Angeles. And as one might expect in those days, Christmas dinners were quite extravagant.. and included such things as Toke Point Oysters, Santa Barbara Spanish Mackerel and Pomona Farm Fed Turkey with Chestnut Dressing and Cranberry Sauce. Followed up of course by New England Suet Pudding with Rhum Sauce and Cafe Noir.

All this information was contained in the Hollenbeck’s Christmas Menu shown above (click to enlarge).

These menu’s and hundreds more are all stored digitally in the Rare Book room at the Los Angeles Public Library. And to make it all the more interesting, they have made it so you can search on Keyword, Restaurant, Cuisine, Date or even Image.

It’s not clear how many menu’s are stored.. but certainly in the hundreds. Not all of the restaurant of course are from Los Angeles.

We also found this one from the Union House in Falls City, Nebraska very interesting from an Ephemera point of view. It dates all the way back to Christmas Day in 1884.

The collection contains menus from Los Angeles, other cities, steamships, airlines, and banquets.  Whether your interest is Ephemera… or food…. you will surely find a visit to this collection a worthwhile trip.

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I’m Tom Murphy and thanks for helping me give Ephemera the Encore it deserves.

Tom

Have a look at my eBay Ephemera site
or have a look at my eBay Auction sites
(Due to travel, there may not be any items listed at this point in time)

Technorati tags: Encore Ephemera, Ephemera, Los Angeles Public Library, Hollenbeck Hotel