ThePaperSunflower: Menus

Friday, August 11, 2017

Primary Colors: Red, Yellow and Blue

Illuminated letter P in the 1407AD Latin Bible, Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England Link

The Primary Colors are red, yellow and blue. Primary colors are the foundation of all colors, because the other colors are created when primary colors are mixed together. Primary colors in their pure form make a statement: they are bold, bright and straightforward. In home and fashion design they are often used alone and muted when used together, transformed into colors such as pink, burgundy, gold and light blue which are softer on the eyes and create a less jarring effect.

But primary colors in their true form can be very appealing in small doses and are commonly found together in modern art, comics, toys, plastic furniture and sometimes even in nature.

The following are examples of primary colors used together from the late 19th century to the present day. Some are in pure form, some are more muted. They are used for different purposes and create different impressions based on their context. There is no unifying theme to these images, except that they contain all three primary colors. They are provided here for inspiration and reflection.

Poster by Jules Cheret (1896)


Poster by Jules Cheret (1896)


Poster by Leonetto Cappiello (1899)

DINNER MENUS NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA SS KOBE MARU

(INCLUDES MAP OF STEAMER ROUTES) (1900) (Courtesy of NY Public Library)

Alphonse Mucha Illustrations from The New York Daily News (1904) (courtesy of wikiart.org)


Valentine Early 1900s


Valentine Early 1900s

Postcard Early 1900s


Valentine Circa 1910

Postcard 1910

Birthday Card Circa 1910


Strong's Book of Designs (1917)

Tableau 1 by Piet Mondrian (1921)

Comic Book 1950s (Courtesy of digitalcomicmuseum.com) Link

Flags of Spain and Argentina
(courtesy of pixabay.com)

Tricycle (courtesy of pixabay.com)

Plastic Chairs (Courtesy of deathtothestockphoto.com) Link

Child With Plastic Block Toys (Photo by Sergey Klimkin, courtesy of pixabay.com)

Fresh Fruit
(courtesy of pixabay.com)

Macao
(courtesy of pixabay.com)

Poppy and Wildflowers
(courtesy of pixabay.com)

Friday, February 12, 2016

Decorative Menu Designs


Fabric Menu (1889)

The ornate menu above is from the Dinner for Hon. John Reilly, held at Charles Duppler's Hotel, New York on November 25, 1889. It is printed on fine pink fabric and contains elaborate machine embroidery. It is from the Buttolph Collection of Menus, part of the digital collections of the New York Public Library, which features an amazing array of menus from the mid 19th Century to 2008. The menus I am featuring are both functional and decorative, and were often intended to be kept as souvenirs. Some commemorate exclusive events; others are menus from ordinary restaurants, trains or cruise lines. The foods served are interesting, as are the prices included on some of the menus. Some are multi-page event programs that feature toasts and songs, and even pages for autographs. There are almost 19,000 items in this collection, so this is only a very small sample, but I have included menus that I found to be particularly beautiful and unusual.

To explore this collection, please click on this link: http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/buttolph-collection-of-menus#/?tab=navigation.

ANNUAL DINNER HELD BY THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY
IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK (1881)