1920 menu from KOREA MARU

menu

EPHEMERA
9-2020.39.0136-0140
Toyo Kisen Kaisha Steamship Co.
1920-10-19
paper
overall: 8 11/16 x 5 1/2 in.

Dinner menu from the KOREA MARU, dated October 19, 1920 and with the name of the captain at that time, M. Jim. This was originally an American ship called the KOREA, but in 1916 it was purchased by Toyo Kisen Kaisha Steamship Company (TKK) for its Asia to San Francisco routes. The menu has a painting or woodblock of a landscape with mountains and cherry trees, and a person and horse in the foreground, and the artwork can be detached and mailed as a postcard. In contrast to the very Japanese aesthetic of the artwork, the menu is extermely Western. Options include striped bass, beef brisket, rabbit fricassee, roast beef, and roast duck. There is also a shrimp curry with rice that perhaps represents an option for those seeking Asian food. Desserts include steamed currant pudding, assorted cakes, and ice cream. The back of the menu has a program for that evening's musical selection. The music is eclectic, and it is mostly contemporary music for the time, with American songwriters George Cohan and Jerome Kern, and a new foxtrot and a Hawaiian-inspired waltz both published in the previous two years. The band master's name, Emiliano Enriquez, is included.

2020.39.137