Abstract
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) University Libraries Menu Collection consists of menus from restaurants, events, and travel excursions dating from 1852 to 2010. It includes menus from throughout the United States, with the majority of menus coming from Las Vegas, Nevada and Southern California. It also contains materials from many countries as well as travel menus from passenger rail travel, cruise liners and ships, and airlines. The collection also includes dining ephemera consisting of dining guides, food service trade information, and other materials related to restaurants.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) University Libraries Menu Collection consists of menus from restaurants, events, and travel excursions dating from 1852 to 2010. It includes menus from throughout the United States, with the majority of menus coming from Las Vegas, Nevada and Southern California. It also contains materials from many countries as well as travel menus from passenger rail travel, cruise liners and ships, and airlines. The collection also includes dining ephemera consisting of dining guides, food service trade information, and other materials related to restaurants. The collection documents regional variations in cuisine and changes in dining trends over the twentieth century.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See
xlink:title="Reproductions and Use"> Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
This collection is organized into seven series:
Series I. Las Vegas, Nevada restaurants, 1901-2010;
Subseries I.A. Hotel and casino restaurants, 1930-2010;
Subseries I.B. Freestanding restaurants, 1901-2007;
Series II. Nevada restaurants, 1901-2010;
Series III. California restaurants, 1891-2010;
Series IV. United States restaurants, 1852-2010;
Subseries IV.A. United States restaurants, 1852-2010;
Subseries IV.B. Chain restaurants, 1931-2010;
Series V. International restaurants, 1888-2010;
Series VI. Excursions, 1880-2010;
Series VII. Restaurants with unidentified locations and dining ephemera, 1931-2010.
Biographical / Historical Note
The UNLV University Libraries began collecting the menus that form the UNLV University Libraries Menu Collection in the 1970s. Special Collections librarians worked closely with the administration of UNLV’s College of Hotel Administration (today the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality) to add to the collection. Jerome "Jerry" Vallen, the first dean of the College of Hotel Administration, donated many of his own menus to the collection. Students in the hotel administration program used the menus to study food history and menu design.
Special Collections and Archives Division continued to actively collect menus throughout the 1980s. Special Collections staff developed a relationship with the National Restaurant Association and received menus annually from restaurants that received menu design awards. Library staff and friends brought back menus from their travels. Donations from several individuals, including Dr. S.R. Shapiro, Vern Lanegrasse, Muriel Stevens, and Ed Warren expanded the collection significantly.
Preferred Citation
UNLV University Libraries Menu Collection, 1852-2010. MS-00436. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were received periodically from 1960 to 2010.
Processing Note
This processing project was partially funded by the UNLV Library Advisory Board and Mark and Maryanne Haley. In 2019, Mary Anilao, Chriziel Childers, Kyle Gagnon, Sarah Jones, Paola Landaverde, Angela Moor, and Landon Paljusaj rehoused and arranged the materials, wrote the finding aid, and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.