Menu Design in America: 1850-1985 [Hardcover]

Steven Heller (Author), John Mariani (Author), Jim Heimann (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2011

Appetite for art: over one hundred years of menu graphics

Until restaurants became commonplace in the late 1800s, printed menus for meals were rare commodities reserved for special occasions.  As restaurants proliferated, the menu became more than just a culinary listing. The design of the menu became an integral part of eating out and as such menus became a marketing tool and a favored keepsake.

Menu Design is an omnibus showcasing the best examples of this graphic art. With nearly 800 examples, illustrated in vibrant color, this deluxe volume not only showcases this extraordinary collection of paper ephemera but serves as a history of restaurants and dining out in America. In addition to the menu covers, many menu interiors are featured providing a epicurean tour and insight to more than a hundred years of dining out. An introduction on the history of menu design by graphic design writer Steven Heller and extended captions by culinary historian John Mariani accompany the menus throughout the book. Various photographs of restaurants round out this compendium that will appeal to anyone who enjoys dining out and its graphic and gastronomic history.

• Nearly 800 stunning examples of menu design
  
• Covers more than a century of exquisite vintage design

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The contributing authors:
Steven Heller, co-chair of the School of Visual Arts MFA Designer as Author Program, writes the "Visuals" column for the New York Times Book Review, and is the author of 120 books on design, illustration, and satiric art.

John Mariani is food and travel columnist for Esquire Magazine, wine columnist for Bloomberg International News, and author of The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, America Eats Out, The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, and How Italian Food Conquered the World.

The editor:
Cultural anthropologist and graphic design historian Jim Heimann is Executive Editor for TASCHEN America, and author of numerous books on architecture, pop culture, and the history of the West Coast, Los Angeles, and Hollywood. His unrivaled private collection of ephemera has been featured in museum exhibitions around the world and dozens of books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (August 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 383652662X
• ISBN-13: 978-3836526623
• Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 10.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Arts & Photography > Graphic Design > Commercial > Branding & Logo Design

More About the Author

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A tasty dish August 23, 2011

By Robin Benson

Format:Hardcover

I hope no other publisher is thinking of doing a book on menu design because Jim Heimann's wonderful collection in this Taschen title can't be beat. With almost eight hundred covers and nicely, many showing the insides so you can see what was available when your folks ate out decades ago.

It's the inside meal listings that I found intriguing: the Palmer House in Chicago, on May 17, 1885, offered Fried frogs, a la Crapotine; when the Iowa Register and Tribune papers had their banquet in 1917 they could tuck into Dross smothered in onions; United States Lines SS America on Monday June 9, 1930 listed a dessert called Blanc mange; the Sea Cave in Oakland, California, had thirty-three oyster dishes and claimed `We open our oysters daily'.

Little snippets of information pop up everywhere. The 1943 San Diego Red Sails Inn menu said 'We are closed on Tuesdays', because of wartime regulations required meatless Tuesdays. The Disney Studio in 1942 had very low prices for breakfast, in the staff canteen, to prevent their workers going of the lot. Many of the menus before 1940 have daily dates printed on them, presumably they were frown away when the places closed at night. All the up-market menus used a mixture of French and English though the swanky New York Colony in 1954 had every thing in French and handwritten, too.

The menus included aren't just restaurants but from anywhere that provided cooked food, the Colony to Bob's Big Boy and everything in between, no early McDonalds though. The covers come in all sorts of sizes and shapes, a few shown include location maps and I found one that featured photographs of the meals.

The book is the usual well designed Taschen format. Good page layouts and printing with a 150 screen.... I would have preferred to see a gloss paper to bring out the wonderful colorful graphics rather than the slightly soft matt art that has been used.

Jim Heinmann's book will be a treat for those in the food business and graphic designers will appreciate all the amazing visual goodies. This is his second title on the subject, check out May I Take Your Order? a nicely designed large paperback from 1998.

###LOOK AT SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover. Read more ›

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic! August 17, 2011

By David K. Mayer

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is one of the most beautifully produced books I have seen. Lavishly illustrated and intelligently written. I would recommend it as a great gift idea.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, high-quality book! December 3, 2011

By Jill Bonar Satterfield

Format:Hardcover

I received this book as a gift from my sister today. It is such a beautifully produced book. From the cover to the binding to the paper it's printed on. The content is wonderful, too. I am sitting here marveling at it. It is lovely to hold and page through. Lovely images and color throughout. Definitely a must-have for graphic designers or just anyone interested in menu design.

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful book May 15, 2013

By jillyfitzwilly

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I bought this for my niece. She collects cookbooks, books on culinary history and any other food-related books. Nobody puts out finer books than Taschen. The information is extensive and very entertaining. The pictures are fabulous. If you enjoy the Tashcen series of the decades, you will love this.

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Glimpse Into A Century Of American Food Culture March 21, 2013

By MadMacs

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Students of graphic design, fans of Americana, and anyone appreciative of cultural history will find this tome invaluable.

An outstanding reference covering the period from the mid-1850s thru the early 1980s - a full century of changing tastes, technical advancements, and even social maturation; revealing our love of and history with dining out.

The coverage is surprisingly deep, with menus representing the most elite haute cuisine to what we now call the 'Three Ds' - diners, drive-ins and dives; providing a fascinating look into the past, glimpsing concepts and ideas about the meals and beverages that were offered from culinary trained chefs to roadhouse slingers.

As usual, some of the most compelling aspects for me personally was discovering food options that are no longer mainstream. A couple of examples: Having to look up the term "Shirred Eggs", which made regular appearances during the early part of the twentieth-century. And "Tongue Sandwich", a common working person's lunch and breakfast item of the period which is, in my opinion, self explanatory as to its current exclusion from menus today.

My only criticism would be that, while I absolutely loved the massive full-color images, there was something to be said about the lack of editorial content. Simply: There just wasn't enough of it. Primarily due to the fact that space for the written word was gobbled up by the application of three different languages for each comment, wiping out the potential for additional insight. Unfortunate, as I would've loved more background - both factual and anecdotal - for many of the menus on display....

The sad thin of layer of insightful text was the only serious flaw to what is easily one of, if not, the best collections I've ever encountered on this subject.

A very strong four stars.

Notes:

- While this is representative of Taschen's typical excellence, whose printed volumes showcase high quality and exceptional content for any number of specialty markets, I suspect had Chronicle Publishing handled the book design aspect, I would've given this an across the board five pointer rating.

- This is a physically large and very heavy book. One I would estimate weighs between 4-5lbs. It's not something one can easily manage for some light nighttime reading prior to sleep.

Recommendation:

- Check out "May I Take Your Order: American Menu Design 1920-1960" from the aforementioned Chronicle Publishing to get a sense of where this production could have seen some improvement. Read more ›

5.0 out of 5 stars Really nice book January 24, 2013

By Myrna Jacobs

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is way nicer than I expected it to be. It was for my son and when he opened it, I was as surprised as he was at the quality. Nice!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Menu Design in America January 4, 2013

By M. Colleen McCann

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I had read a review of this book in a business journal, where it was praised highly. I found it to meet expectations.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good content, production oops. January 2, 2013

By James D. Rice

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Length: 2:14 Mins

Although not perfect quality, this book is overall gorgeous and has good content. But be aware, a $40 book can have flaws.