We’ve seen Canadian National’s 1937 coronation menus before, but they were from someone else’s collection. I’ve acquired a set of my own and I’ll present them in two groups.

Click image to download a 510-KB PDF of this menu.

These menus celebrated the coronation of King George VI, the father of the current Queen Elizabeth II. The United Kingdom had not seen a formal coronation since 1910 when Elizabeth’s grandfather, King George V, ascended to the throne. In between George V and George VI, Edward VIII was briefly king, but did not go through a formal coronation before he abdicated so he could marry an American named Wallis Simpson.

Click image to download a 521-KB PDF of this menu.

With a full generation having passed between coronations, the nation was ready for a lot of pomp and circumstance, much of which is illustrated in these menus. It didn’t hurt that the country had recently come out of a depression and was headed into a pretty serious war. The new king gave something for people to rally around during the war.

Click image to download a 503-KB PDF of this menu.

George VI was a heavy smoker and suffered from lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases. He died in February 1952, making way for his daughter Elizabeth to begin her fabled reign.