Details:

Original four-page bill of fare issued by the Louisville Hotel of Louisville, Kentucky, for Sunday dinner on February 4, 1872. Elegantly printed with engraved illustrations of both the Louisville Hotel and the Maxwell House in Nashville, Tennessee, the menu reflects the refined dining customs of one of the Midwest’s premier post-Civil War hotels during the early Gilded Age.

The Sunday dinner features an impressive selection of soups, boiled meats, roasts, cold dishes, entrées, game, vegetables, relishes, pastries, and desserts. Among the offerings are corned beef and cabbage, round of beef with tomato sauce, leg of mutton with caper sauce, stuffed turkey with cranberry sauce, spring lamb, roast prairie grouse with jelly, veal cutlets à l’Anglaise, sweetbreads braised with mushrooms, scrambled hog’s brains with drawn butter, turkey wings, oyster plant, baked macaroni à l’Italienne, cream pie, mince pie, peach brandy jelly, and red raspberry ice cream.

The accompanying wine list provides a glimpse into nineteenth-century hospitality, featuring imported champagnes from Veuve Clicquot, Moët & Chandon, and Louis Roederer, along with Bordeaux clarets, Burgundy, Hock and Rhine wines, ports, sherries, native American wines, cider, liquors, brandies, whiskies, ales, and porter. Prices are listed throughout, offering an informative period snapshot of luxury hotel dining in the Reconstruction era.

The Louisville Hotel opened in 1858 and quickly became one of Kentucky’s most prestigious hotels, welcoming politicians, military officers, businessmen, entertainers, and travelers arriving by rail and riverboat. Located in the heart of Louisville, it served as an important social and commercial center throughout the nineteenth century, hosting banquets, civic gatherings, and distinguished guests during a period of rapid growth in the city.

Overall very good condition.

Authentication:
Includes a full letter of authenticity from JG Autographs, Inc.

Premium:
A 25% Buyers Premium Will Be Added to All Winning Bids

Reference sku: 11500 1416968-1