Collectors Are Eating up Vintage Menus
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$1.50 AntiqueWeek T HE W EEKLY A N T IQUE A UC T ION & C OLLEC T ING N E W SP A PER VOL. 53 ISSUE NO. 2685 www.antiqueweek.com MARCH 23, 2021 Collectors are eating up vintage menus By William Flood If you’re like most of us, it’s been quite a while since you’ve dined in a restaurant and ordered a meal from a menu held in your hands rather than from an app on your phone. Yet, did you know that what was once so common — the restaurant menu — is a popular collectible? Menu collecting is a niche within the larger ephemera collecting hobby and popular for many reasons. Menus have a nostalgic appeal, particularly for long-gone eateries that collectors recog- nize or have visited. Menus also pro- vide a fascinating economics lesson reflected in the age-old prices printed on their pages. Culinary trends and once-popular cuisine are also spotlight- ed as is the evolution of commercial printing and design. And, even though the most historic menus can cost thou- sands of dollars, menu collecting Above: Die-cut menus came in every shape imaginable, all intended to be unique mar- remains a relatively inexpensive hobby. keting tools for the restaurant. There is archeological evidence that something akin to menus once existed Below: This cocktail menu from the former Kahiki in Columbus shows the draw being cre- in China’s Song Dynasty — but menus ated by alluring pictures and exotic names like the “Fog Cutter.” as we know them date back to 18th-cen- tury Europe. At that time, dining out- side of the home was rare. While tav- erns and inns served travelers, menus were not necessary, as guests ate what the house provided at communal tables and at a specified time. Restaurants, as we know them evolved in 18th-century Paris. Catering to the wealthy, these establishments featured luxurious inte- riors, individual tables, a range of din- ing hours, and fine fare selected from a list of options. Daily selections were Above: The earliest known menus were for often listed on a bulletin board outside, lavish parties held in European courts like on a chalkboard near the dining area this one for “Their Majesties Dinner.” (from which our term à la carte or ‘according to the board’ emerged), or courses and dessert options for the simply recited by the waiter. guests. After the French Revolution, The use of a paper menu came later their use spread to restaurants, replac- - the word menu itself is French in ori- ing the more common menu boards. gin. The earliest surviving examples Similarly, in England, the bill of fare hail from the mid-18th-century for soi- rees hosted by King Louis XV of France, See Vintage Menus on page 19 typically sole pages listing several Atlanta Expo Centers 3,500 Booths! Ohio Expo Center 800-1,200 Booths! SCOTT ANTIQUE MARKETS Atlanta, GA Columbus, OH ANTIQUE AND DESIGNER ITEMS 2nd Weekend *Dates subject to change (covid19) TM 740.569.2800 www.scottantiquemarkets.com Apr 8 - 11 Jun 10 - 13 Every Month Nov 27 - 28 2021 America’s Favorite Treasure Hunts! 2021 May 6 - 9 Jul 8 - 11 Dec 18 - 19 Hours: Friday-Saturday 10-6 Located in the old historic YMCA Sunday 12-4 37 West Kruzan Brazil, Indiana Like us on Page 2 WWW.ANTIQUEWEEK.COM March 23, 2021 NEWS Opening an antique shop during a pandemic: ‘A leap of faith’ By Eric C. Rodenberg BRAZIL, Ind. – Some folks may think picking up and moving more than 1,400 miles, during the first month of Covid-19, to set up an antique business in a town where no one knows you may be a little “off the hinge.” But, that’s exactly what a young Mon- tana family did, arriving in Brazil, Ind., on March 31, 2020. It was a “leap of faith,” said 40-year-old Michelle Chur- chill. She and her husband, Mike, and 18-year-old daughter Katlyn, first saw the property online around January of 2020. The Churchills are natives of Billings, Mont., where Michelle’s grandparents and parents operate Wright Custom Re- pair, a 46-year-old furniture restoration business. Michelle grew up in the busi- ness. Mike has worked for his in-laws for more than 20 years in all aspects of stripping, repairing and refurbishing antique furniture. As antique pickings are sparse in Montana, the Churchills often traveled east to buy pieces to restore and sell. Wanting to be closer to the action, they were surfing the internet for greener pastures during early 2020. What they found posted from the Above: Lifetime natives of “The Big Sky” country of Montana, Mi- small town of Brazil, 64 miles southwest chelle, Katlyn and Mike Churchill, took a leap of faith, resettling of Indianapolis, showed some promise. in Brazil, Ind., during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Above: Advertising signs from across the country are another The Victorian home was built circa March 2020. Already, it appears their leap of faith will fulfill their specialty of the Churchills at Off The Hinge Antiques. 1885 by Judge Daniel McGregor and dreams. his wife Bell. When Bell died in 1928, she willed the home to the community YMCA. In 1949, a gymnasium with a full ity antiques. Indiana. It was really a leap of faith for blocks from downtown Brazil. basketball court was added to the home. “I said to Mike, let’s get it,” Michelle both of us. We jumped with a dream.” Packing up and moving from Mon- What a perfect place to have a home said. “He thought I was crazy, but I fi- The dream is called, appropriately, Off nally talked him into it. I call it opening The Hinge Antiques & Home Décor. It is and walk through a doorway onto a See Antique Shop on Page 4 3,000-square-foot court to fill with qual- his mind. Days later we took a flight to located at 37 West Kruzan St., about four Collectors’ treasure trove finds new homes at Green Valley Auctions By Susan Emerson Nutter Right: Made of cherry, this early New England Queen Anne scroll top, 11 drawer highboy MT. CRAWFORD, Va. — Green Valley having both a circular and fan carving, acorn Auctions recently hosted a two-day, online drops and nice cabriole legs ending in pad only event with the second day featuring feet sold for $1,502. the lovely collections put together by Bet- ty and the late Jim Oglesby of Virginia Beach. This couple loved to collect and did so across a wide range of genres resulting in a very interesting auction. Furniture offered included examples of Chippendale, Queen Anne, Georgian & Empire pieces. Brown furniture was fea- tured with a very functional New England Queen Anne scroll top highboy bringing $1,502. Made of cherry, this highboy boast- ed an 11-drawer configuration with the piece being 86 inches high overall. A heavily inlaid low boy standing 32 inches high and being 33 inches wide and 20 inches deep brought $598, while a fine Georgian eight drawer, chest on chest in mahogany was bid to $819. Clocks were in abundance this day as this collecting area was one the Oglesbys Above: Aurora in her chariot bringing the loved. The top lot of the clock’s honors went sun into a new day is everything on this Above: “Evening Light” a lovely minia- ture oil by English artist Elizabeth Brown See Green Valley on Page 4 Foster Campos Federal style eglomise banjo clock that realized $2,302. sold for $354. AntiqueWeek (ISSN 0888-5451) is published Contacts weekly (except Christmas week) by Publisher: Subscriptions/Delivery Advertising representatives: MidCountry Tony Gregory Telephone: 1 800 876 5133 Telephone: 1 800 876 5133 Media, Inc. Telephone: 1 800 876 5133 ext 321 [email protected] Fax: 1 800 695 8153 [email protected] After Hours: 1 800 876 5133 ext. 177 P.O. Box 90 27 N Jefferson St. Knightstown, IN 46148-1242 Managing Editor: Advertising Manager: Jessica Davis Founded in 1968 by Tom and Peggy Mayhill. Connie Swaim Dan Morris Telephone: 1 800 876 5133 ext 133 Telephone: 1 800 876 5133 ext 131 US subscription $42.00 per annum. Telephone: 1 888 342 3232 [email protected] Periodicals postage paid at Knightstown, [email protected] [email protected] Indiana 46148 and additional mailing offices. Fax: 1-850-342-1777 Postmaster: Please send changes of address to P.O. Box 90, Knightstown, IN 46148 March 23, 2021 WWW.ANTIQUEWEEK.COM Page 3 AUCTION SATURDAY, MARCH 27 9:00 A.M. 3760 WHEAT RIDGE RD. AMISH COMMUNITY BLDG. WEST UNION, OH 45693 1928 FORD MDL. A COUPE-RESTORED, GAS & OIL SIGNS, CLOCKS, THERMOMETERS, NEONS, COUNTRY STORE & SODA POP ADV., RARE 10 FT. CINCINNATI, OH ART DECO GAS STATION ISLAND LIGHTS, FRY 5 GAL. VISIBLE PUMP, SLOT MACHINES, CRUSHIE THERMOMETER Visit www.auctionzip.com ID #4988 for complete ad & pictures. TERMS: CASH, GOOD CHECK w/PROPER ID. AUCTIONEER: HERBERT ERWIN 937-544-8252 Page 4 WWW.ANTIQUEWEEK.COM March 23, 2021 repair or refinishing, it gets done right. Right: A double-wide hall tree should I pull every drawer out and make sure make a statement in any home. Using Antique Shop they move smoothly. It must be up to his 20 years’ experience in woodwork- From Page 2 our standards to go onto the showroom. ing, Mike Churchill will not let any piece Every piece is ready to go into your hit the showroom without being “ready tana to Indiana during the first crucial home.” to take home.” His standards at Off The month of a pandemic presented a few The Churchills aren’t afraid to tackle Hinge Antiques & Home Decor is very problems with, perhaps, a silver lining.