5,000 menus from the New York Public Library's Buttolph collection (1880–1920)

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!Image 1: Menu of Delmonico’s, NYC, 1881!Image 2: Menu of Manhattan Club, NYC, 1866!Image 3: Menu of Hotel Colorado, Glenwood Springs, CO, 1915!Image 4: Menu of Astor House, NYC, 1854!Image 5: Menu of Delmonico’s, NYC, 1900!Image 6: Menus from Buttolph Collection!Image 7: Menus from Buttolph Collection!Image 8: Menu from Sherry’s, NY, 1891!Image 9: Frank Bullolph Photograph!Image 10: Menu of Hotel Bellevue, 1896

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What do America’s earliest restaurant menus teach us about America?

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The New York Public Library’s Buttolph Collection of menus, dated 1880-1920, captures the emergence of modern-day restaurant dining.

The archive was assembled by Frank E. Buttolph (pictured here), who spent decades collecting menus as a record of the culinary and social history of her time.