Hotel Royal Victoria, Nassau, Bahamas

Hotel Royal Victoria, Nassau, Bahamas, January 1, 1901

This menu is smaller than you might imagine--7 x 4 in. The cover is thick cardstock and the illustration of the clock, Baby New Year, and the birds is embossed. The interior page is printed on a separate sheet which is bound to the cover with a white cord. Age has yellowed the paper and the cord, and the tassel is frayed. Compared to the hotel's daily menus during this time period which were undecorated and printed on single sheets, this holiday menu is much fancier.

This 1901 New Year's Day menu features many choices for dinner, including entrees of boiled sheepshead, turkey, filet of beef, prime sirloin of beef, and capon. Dessert choices are delicate pudding with wine sauce, American lemon pie, vanilla cream with fruit sauce, sponge cake glace, cocoanut jumbles, assorted cake, lady fingers, or chocolate ice cream. These are not unlike the dishes listed on the daily menus.

The Royal Victoria Hotel was the first luxury hotel in the Bahamas (built in 1861). The CIA menu collection includes 111 of their menus, from 1899-1902.

From the Culinary Institute of America Menu Collection, Smiley Family Menu Collection, menu 27-831.