This Los Angeles Limited menu resembles other LA Limited menus from that time period. But it is unusual for a Union Pacific menu from any time period in that it identifies the photographer who took the cover photo–and the photograph who took the back cover photo as well.
Click image to download a 2.4-MB PDF of this menu.
The front cover photo says “Curtis,” which refers to Asahel Curtis, a famous Seattle landscape photographer whose even more famous brother, Edward Curtis, made his name photographing American Indians. Asahel was also a mountain climber who photographed many beautiful scenes in the Northwest, including the 1908 photo below from what I believe is the edge of the lake that is in the middle ground of the menu’s cover photo. UP has colorized the cover photo, and someone must have colorized the photo below as well.
Click image for a larger view.
The photo on the back of the menu shows Oregon’s Mt. Hood, and the menu credits “Gifford.” This almost certainly refers to Ralph Gifford, who took many scenic photos in Oregon between 1910 and 1950. There is a chance it could be his father, Benjamin Gifford, or Ralph’s son, Ben Gifford, but they worked in different time periods.
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This particular photo was taken from the aptly named Panorama Point, which is now a county park in Hood River County. Below is a recent photo taken from this same point that I found on Flickr. The line of foothills in front of Mt. Hood, the orchards in the foreground, even some of the coniferous trees apparently planted as windscreens closely resemble the ones in Gifford’s photo. Gifford’s photos are archived at the Oregon State University library, so perhaps some day I’ll see if I can find the original for this one.
Click image for a larger view. Flickr photo by McD22 (Sarah McDevitt)