Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-20
LITERATURE OF EATING
COLLECTION OF MENUS IN NEW
YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Bill of Fare of Aguinaldo's Birthday
Dinner-MementoSo of Fa-
nous Meals.

Miss Frank E. Buttolph, collector of menus
for the New York Public Library, is happier
than ever before since she started her col
lection, two and half years ago. She re-
Gently received from Thomas B. Mills of
West Superior, Wis, the bill of fare for the
dinner Aguinaldo was giving his followers
in celebration of his thirty-fourth birthday,
March %, 1901 when lie was surprised and
captured by Gen. Funston and his squad.
The card which was written on ordinary
unruled letter paper in Spanish, was pasted
for convenience the lid of cigar box,
and doubtless was passed from hand to
hand among the diners. 1t was observed by
Capt. Harry Newton, now of the 34th In
fantry, quartered at Honolulu, Hawaiian
Islands, but then of Gen. Funstons COM
mand' and was by him carried away as
souvenir of the downfall of the Filipino
leader. He sent it by mail to Mr.. Mills.
and he, having read of the Buttolph collec-
ton of menus at the Aston Library, wrote
Miss Buttolph to inquire if she would like
to have it. She lost no time in saying she
would, and it came to her by registered
mail about two weeks ago.
A Filipino Menu.
The menu is neatly written in ink and
has an ornamental border made with red
pencil. The stock of neatness of the chef,
however was evidently exhausted before
his task was completed, as he failed to fill
in the red in the lower marginal panel and
pasted the paper on the box lid very care
lessly. leaving unsightly wrinkles in sew
eral places. Two of the eight items on the
bill were evidently exhausted before Gen.
Funstons arrival, a pencil had been
drawn through the lines referring to them.
Another popularity of the bill is that the
chef signed his to it with his full
title. When Miss Buttolph attempted to
transcribe the bill the last line worried her
greatly. 1t was so written that the words
were not clearly separated, and, to use her
own picturesque language, she was almost
in despair, when 1t suddenly occurred 10
that the cook had added himself to the
menu, but had neglected to state whether
in a broil, roast or a stew. l have since
concluded it must have been the latter, as
Gen. Funston became chief cook and bottle
washer only few moments after the dim
ner began. p. Buensuceso: maestro CO.
cinero, was the way he ended the last state
paper of the Agunaldo administration
This was the bill:
MENU A LA FRANCESCA.
l. Arroz a la Filipena Cruz Roja.
2 Budin en- forma de TORE tricolor.
g. ChorisoS de carne con salsa rubla.
a. Pescado Il la mayonesa.
). Pisto de calabasa con almondiguillas.
g. Gran pastel de politics rellenados con
masa nacional 10 Palanan.
Z. Gallna trufada y jdmbon dulce
s. Carne asada a 10 Rusa con ensalada de
esparragos 10 Casguran.
Dulce.
Varia classes de suelto.
History says General Funston and his
command had undergone great privations
and were hungry when they captured Agui-
naldo. What they did to the remainder of
the dinner is not stated.
Beginning of the Fad.
Miss Buttolph began collecting menus on
January 1. 1900. Her first effort was due to
seeing for the first time on the bill of fare
of a restaurant in Union Square the date
1900 She took away the bill with her and
spoke to her superiors at the Aston Library
about it. They proposed keeping 1t, and
Miss Buttolph at once decided to begin
might secure 500 good ones in a few months
and she did. Now the collection contains
more than 10, 500, and is growing at a rate |
of which she did not dream until long after
her little New Year, 1900, beginning. |
Strangely enough, however. that first menu |
the cornerstone of the collection-has dis |
appeared.
great classes. The first refers to service |
meals in hotels and restaurants, meals on |
steamships and dining cars and in the |
homes of the people. The second class con- |
tains the menus of famous private and pub |
lie dinners state dinners given by rulers |
and diplomats, wedding breakfasts, dinners |
and luncheonS, special train meals and |
meals served to distinguished men and |
women privately on ocean voyages
Dinners Of Long Ago.
Among the treasures in the first class |
the greatest Is bound volume of the din |
ner menus of the American Hotel, which |
stood at Broadway and Barclay street. |
This volume contains the dinner bills from |
June 10 to November %, inclusive, in the |
year 1S4S This book was found in 1890 |
Mt u n Nnir fol CT
Brooklyn, by Rudolph Weusthoff and was |
given to Miss Buttolph by the finder on
April 2, 1901. In the bill for July 4. 1S4S |
the most noticeable item is ''homony" The |
word is SO spelled wherever used in the |
book. Among the most interesting fea-
lures of the bills the footnotes. The |
meal hours given follows: Break
fast, IA o'clock. Dinner, ladies' ordinary, |
2R o'clock; gentlemen's, 3h o'clock" No
supper hour is given in any of the bills |
Another note is as follows: Meals or
lunches sent to rooms will be charged eX-
ira, except in case of sickness" The ma
ture of the maladies which would prevent
extra charge was not given. A severe head
ache probably was sufficient, and no ply
sicians certificate as to how the owner
came by it was required. One of the mex
plicable things in the bills was the fact
that among the roasts meat was gener-
ally given in the plural form, but the
boiled meats were singular. In the Fourth
of July bill referred to there were roast
ducks, chickens and pigs but boiled
turkey and lamb The autograph of
James Bagey proprietor of the American
Hotel, is on fyleaf.
European Bills of Fare.
Among the bills of fare in the first class
dated menus with prices are religiously
sought, with view to supplying in future
valuable data as to the cost of food at
various times and places. Among them Is
the bill of the cheapest restaurant in New
York where a regular dinner costs five
cents 1t consists of meat stew, coffee and
bread; pork and beans, coffee and bread
the diner may prefer. 1t is served at
two places only in the metropolis. There is
however in the city another place which
serves regular breakfast for ID cents and
a regular dinner for 10 cents. The break
fast consists of a steak chop, wheat
cakes and glass of milk or cup of tea
or coffee. The dinner consists of SOUP
roast steak or chop, pudding or pie, and
milk coffee tea. There are also bills
of fare of the Greek, Syrian. Armenian
Chinese. Japanese and Jewish restaurants
in this city and of hotels, restaurants and
dining cars in every country on the globe
Miss Buttolph says the dining car bills of
fare in this country are the finest in the
ha dining in E,nrnnn