In about 1961 Canadian Pacific began using a series of menus featuring historic transportation technologies. Today’s menu shows an artist’s conception of a flying machine designed by Leonardo daVinci in about 1486.

Click image to download a 500-KB PDF of this menu.

To make the machine fly, the back of the menu notes, the operator would have to work both arms and legs to make the wings flap. “The contrast with Canadian Pacific Airlines is extreme,” comments the menu. “Comfort and serenity are our speciality,” it adds, thus undermining its own ocean liner system.

This menu was used on the Empress of Canada on August 14, 1962. This was the first night out on a voyage from Liverpool to Montreal.

The menu is easier to understand than those of the 1930s to 1950s because each course is identified by name. It includes 10 hors d’oeuvres, three soups, three fish, three entrées, two items to order from the grill, one joint, sorbet to cleanse the palette, roast turkey for releve, a choice of three veggies, four kinds of potatoes (including Saratoga chips), a cold buffet, salads, compote of fruit and whipped cream, six desserts plus four flavors of ice cream, Welsh rarebit for a savory, then a final dessert of fruits and almonds. CP probably included titles for each course because most people were no longer used to having 10- to 12-course meals.