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Dinner menu for a gala night on EMPRESS OF ENGLAND

Maker Canadian Pacific Steamship Company (1891 - 1971)

Date21 July 1962

Object number00000818

NameMenu

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 263 x 205 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from M L Breaden

Terms

DescriptionThis dinner menu from the British ocean liner, EMPRESS OF ENGLAND, depicts a fifteenth century dining hall with numerous figures in medieval dress seated at an elaborate feast.HistoryEMPRESS OF ENGLAND was built for Canadian Pacific and launched in 1956 by Vickers–Armstrong Ltd, Newcastle. It served as a cruise ship for passengers sailing between England and Canada, however, by the early 1960s, passenger numbers dwindled. By 1970, after travelling from British ports to South Africa and again to Canada, EMPRESS OF ENGLAND was renamed OCEAN MONARCH and recommenced sailing to various new destinations including Australia and New Zealand. There are a large number of these menus in the museum collection. They generally feature an illustration or design reflecting the key attributes of the ship, the ports or countries visited during the journey. This menu series reveals the marketing strategies adopted by Canadian Pacific to capture their passengers’ imagination. Each illustration is accompanied by a description which would have been read by passengers as they attended their evening meal. The description accompanying this particular menu reads: 'The rich nobleman of the 15th century held feasts of unparalleled lavishness, sparing no pains to provide his guests with the rarest delicacies. Note here the cuttlefish garnished with snails and the dish of lamprey: - two of the very few items you will not find on Canadian Pacific menus.'SignificanceAfter her launch in 1956, EMPRESS OF ENGLAND served as a cruise ship operating between Liverpool and Montreal. Shipboard menus were the most common type of souvenir collected by passengers. This menu illustrates how Canadian Pacific capitalised on the initial popularity of the luxury cruise liner by inserting colourful promotional material during their dinner service.