Graphic Design in Historical Menus Late 19th-century restaurant
menus were much smaller and almost dainty compared to today’s
larger menus. Although sizes might range from 3 x 4 inches to 12
x 9 inches, most menus were typically 4 x 6 inches, and there
would be a variety of typical design-types. Some were simply
single sheets of elegant cardstock containing small
illustrations with dishes listed on one side; others were book-
style and opened up with silken cords tied at the spine; some
had fine fringed silken trim borders; and still others might be
cut into particular shapes or folded in a decorative fashion.
Most menus were only one page long or, if book style, covered
two pages. The name of the restaurant was frequently optional
but, if present, it might include the restaurant’s location and
the name of the manager as well. Menus seemed to grow larger
over the decades, and using the Bohn Collection as evidence, one
might guess that it was the 1930s that saw the menu develop into
the large size that we are f