The New Haven RR Image Page -- Menu Covers of the 1950s Era

THE IMAGE PAGE

The 'image page' is where we put a changing variety of New Haven Railroad photographs and advertising material for you to enjoy. Be sure to check back here often because we plan to refresh these images on a regular basis.

Menu Covers Of The 1950s Era

March 1st, 2004

Prior to the late 1940s the New Haven Railroad had no standard format for Dining Car Department menus. However, around 1949 the railroad decided to adopt a standard 8" x 11" magazine-style format for most menus. These menus were supplied to the railroad on a monthly basis by Transportation Displays Incorporated (TDI), the famous commuter timetable people. The menus were financed entirely through paid advertising collected by TDI. In this "image page" we'll take a look at the standard Dining Car Department menu cover designs used throughout the 1950s decade. All menus from the collection of Marc Frattasio.

This menu, from 1950, demonstrates the standard cover format used on the New Haven throughout the early 1950s. Typically, the front and back covers of menus from this era featured full-page non-railroad related advertisements. Typically, the advertisement on the front cover was for Shawmut Bank while the advertisement on the back cover was for Ballentine ale or some other kind of alcoholic beverage.

The cover on this New Haven Railroad menu from 1952 employed the same basic format as the menu from 1950 shown above. However, note that the railroad identification on the "banner" or "masthead" of this cover is substantially different. Variety was added throughout the early 1950s by altering the advertising graphics and the text and typeface at the top of the cover.

The New Haven's menus evolved into travel guides during the early 1950s. Inserted into the pages of the menu along with the food and beverage selections and paid advertisements were suggestions for things to do and see in Boston, New York City, and elsewhere along the railroad's service territory. This New Haven menu from June 1955 demonstrates the standard "banner" or "masthead" design used on menu covers in the months leading up to the introduction of the McGinnis administration's revolutionary NH logo and colors.

In July 1955 the McGinnis administration's revolutionary NH logo and red-orange, black, and white colors were applied to dining car and grill car menus for the first time. This particular design format, with the NH logo centered, was employed on menu covers through the end of 1956.

In late 1956 another new image Dining Car Department menu cover design format was introduced. In this case, the NH logo was moved all the way to the left. Note also that the hue of the NH logo was altered in this era, taking on a rosy rather than orange tint.

New Haven menu covers changed dramatically during 1958. This time, the paid advertising was relegated to the back cover and interior pages. The front covers featured black and white "scratchboard" drawings of typical New England scenes on a gold background. This style of menu cover remained in use on the New Haven through the early 1960s.