The cover on this menu features the same Quebec Bridge that was on the back cover of a 1921 menu shown here a few months ago. The paintings on that menu were by Harold Wellington McCrea, while the painting on today’s menu was by Richard W. Rummell (1848-1924), who also did a painting that was included in yesterday’s booklet. Another of Rummell’s paintings, an aerial view of Jasper Park, was used by CN in a 1925 booklet.
Click image to download a 1.1-MB PDF of this menu.
Most of Rummell’s aerial views (though not the one of Jasper) were done from an elevation of about 300 feet above the ground, which has led some historians to believe that he did them from a hot-air balloon (which I doubt as he did many such paintings and there is no written record of him using a balloon). Most of his paintings were also in color and I suspect CN printed this one in sepia-and-white as an economy measure, which would be a disappointment after the colorful menus of 1921.
Completed in 1919, the Quebec Bridge was then and still is the longest cantilever bridge span in the world, making it a source of pride for Canadians. It should have been a source of shame as engineering failures caused the bridge to collapse twice while under construction, killing a total of 88 workers. Rather than be ashamed, Canadians preferred to see the bridge’s completion as an example of national grit and determination. On the positive side, it did lead to some reforms within Canada’s engineering profession.
Rummell’s painting of the bridge wraps around to the back of the menu. Unfortunately, whoever collected this menu glued it to a notebook, severely damaging the back. The part that was important to CN — two trains crossing the bridge — is shown on the front.
The breakfast menu, dated January 10, 1924, is in English on the left and French on the right. It offered hearty meals typical of the age, including steaks, chops, chicken, and fish. It also had cereals, eggs, and potatoes, but no griddle cakes or French toast. Multiply prices by 12 and change to approximate today’s U.S. dollars, which would make a single egg $2.50 and a sirloin steak $20.