1926-27 World Cruise Menus & Sketches

Posted on by February 4, 2023
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We’ve already seen a couple of the menus used on the 1926-27 world cruise, including the Valentine’s Day menu and Washington’s Birthday menu. Here are a few more.

Click image to view and download a PDF of this menu from the University of British Columbia Chung collection.

The cover on the Christmas Day dinner menu is the same as on the 1931 Christmas menu shown here previously. Both also offered caviar as an hors d’oeuvre and roast turkey as a main course, though this one specifies chestnut stuffing in the turkey. For some reason, this one only has sole for the fish course; most empress menus offered a choice of two kinds of fish. Continue reading →

1926-27 World Cruise

Posted on by February 22, 2023
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It may be a sign of the success of Canadian Pacific world cruises that the company hired Maurice Logan to paint the cover of the 1926-27 advertising booklet rather than a then-unknown artist such as Holling Holling or Richard Allen Fish. This cover art wraps around to the back and further to a flap on the back that can be used to cover part of the front, and the artist’s signature is prominently visible on the front cover instead of discreetly hidden in a corner.

Click image to view and download a PDF of this booklet from the University of British Columbia Chung collection. Click here to download an 11.2-MB PDF of this wraparound cover.

A California painter and illustrator well known for his use of bright colors and a “loose impressionistic style,” Logan had painted posters and booklet covers for the Southern Pacific at least since 1920, when SP published this poster. Canadian Pacific commissioned him to do the cover art on this booklet as well a full-page painting of CP steamships’ red-and-white checkered flag on page 3. This page also says, “Book designed by Louis Treviso” and “Paintings by Maurice Logan.” About Louis Treviso I can find no information. Continue reading →

1925-26 Round-the-World Cruise

Posted on by February 4, 2023
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For the winter of 1925-26, Canadian Pacific decided to begin its round-the-world tour in early December rather than mid-January. It may have been reluctant to do this in 1924 and 1925 because it feared some potential passengers would not want to be away from home on Christmas. But the change in schedule was a better fit with the months that the St. Lawrence Seaway was too iced up for service to Quebec, namely December through April.

Click image to view and download a PDF of this booklet from the University of British Columbia Chung collection.

The cover art on the above booklet is signed Richard Allen Fish. Most on-line descriptions of the booklet assume he did all of the interior art as well, but most of the interior art can also be found in the 1925 booklet, suggesting it was really done by Holling Holling. I can’t find much information about Fish on line other than that he was born in 1900 — the same year as Holling — and worked as an artist in Chicago, Detroit, and New York. Continue reading →

Around the World Cruise 1925

Posted on by February 4, 2023
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Canadian Pacific elected to use the 11-year-old Empress of France for its 1925 world cruise. Launched in 1913 as the Alsatian by the Allan Line (which Canadian Pacific had controlled since 1909 but operated separately from its own ships until 1918), it left on its maiden voyage from Liverpool to St. John, N.B., on January 17, 1914.


The Empress of France as it appeared in 1925, before its hull was painted white, is shown on this cigarette card. Click image for a larger view.

After the war, CP integrated the Allan Line into its operations and renamed the Alsatian. The Empress of France continued to serve CP until 1931 and was scrapped in 1934 after making 99 Atlantic voyages, 5 Pacific ones, and 8 lengthy cruises, plus wartime service. Continue reading →

1924 World Cruise Menus

Posted on by February 4, 2023
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Here are four menus used the 1924 Empress of Canada world cruise that Wallace Chung happened to collect. The cruise left New York City on January 30 and arrived in Gibralter on February 10. In anticipation, the dinner menu card for February 9 featured Gibralter on the top.

Click image to view and download a PDF of this menu from the University of British Columbia Chung collection.

It’s possible that this is a lunch menu, which might help explain why it is a card instead of a folder. But it certainly looks filling. It features what is potentially a seven- or eight-course meal, including hors d’oeuvres, two soups, two kinds of fish, five hot meats plus grilled quail, three cold meats, salad, and potentially four different settings of post-meal desserts. Not everyone would eat every course, but no one would go hungry. Continue reading →

Washington’s Birthday Dinner

Posted on by February 4, 2023
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Passenger taking Canadian Pacific around-the-world cruises got to celebrate three holidays in the space of 11 days in February: Lincoln’s birthday, Valentine’s day, and Washington’s birthday. Here are two Washignton’s birthday menus, the first used aboard the Empress of Scotland‘s round-the-world cruise of 1926-1927.

Click image to view and download a PDF of this menu from the University of British Columbia Chung collection.

The musical program would not be politically correct today. It starts with Sousa’s Stars and Stripes, which is fine. But this followed by William Paris Chambers’ Reminiscences of the Plantation and then by songs from the Civil War, which was quite a bit after Washington’s time. Continue reading →

Around the World by Empress in 1924

Posted on by February 4, 2023
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Demand for travel to Europe declined in the winter, and apparently that was especially true for the first-class travel provided by Canadian Pacific empresses. CP continued to serve wintertime Canada-England travelers with its cabin-class ships, while in 1924 it began using its empresses for winter cruises to the West Indies, Mediterranean, and around the world.

Click image to view and download a PDF of this booklet from the University of British Columbia Chung collection.

The 1924 round-the-word cruise was on Canadian Pacific’s finest ship at the time, the two-year-old Empress of Canada. Despite the name, the cruise didn’t quite go all the way around the world. Later CP round-the-world cruises would start and finish in New York City, but this cruise started in New York and ended in Vancouver. Cruise fares covered rail travel from Vancouver to New York, and presumably people who lived in, say, Los Angeles or Denver would get an adjustment on those fares. Continue reading →

Around the World Tours in 1903

Posted on by February 4, 2023
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This brochure describes around-the-world tours people could take using Canadian Pacific trains across Canada, Canadian Pacific ships from Vancouver to Hong Kong or Australia, and Canadian Pacific ships from Liverpool to Montreal. The brochure lists other carriers that could complete the tour between Australia and England.

Click image to view and download a 13.1-MB PDF of this brochure from the David Rumsey map collection.

In addition to the empresses of Japan, China, and India from Vancouver to Yokohama and Hong Kong, the brochure notes that Canadian Pacific had two other ships on that route: the Athenian and Tartar. These were smaller and a few years older than the empresses. The Athenian was scrapped in 1907 and the Tartar in 1908. Continue reading →

Black & White Menu Cards

Posted on by February 4, 2023
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Only one of these menu cards is dated, but they are of a similar style and were probably issued around the same time. The first was used on the Empress of Russia in December 1919. Though it doesn’t say so, it looks like a dinner menu.

Click image to view and download a PDF of this menu from the University of British Columbia Chung collection.

The menu lists 21 numbered items. “Tunny fish,” an old name for tuna, is one of the hors d’oeuvres. The fish course is Fraser River salmon. There are four entrées, and the “joint” (though not called that) is roast quail. Four different desserts are items 15 through 18, then item 20 is simply “dessert.” Continue reading →

Japanese Mask Menus

Posted on by February 4, 2023
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Here are two menus that I include together only because they both feature Japanese masks. Although both are cards instead of folders, they have few other similarities, as they were used sixteen years apart on two very different ships.

Click image to view and download a PDF of this menu from the University of British Columbia Chung collection.

The first is dated 1911 and, though the name of the ship isn’t given, it would have to have been one of CP’s first empresses: Asia, India, or Japan. The menu also doesn’t say whether it was for lunch or dinner, but given how few items are on it, I’d have to guess lunch. Continue reading →