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Dinner menu from the EMPRESS OF ENGLAND

Maker Canadian Pacific Steamship Company (1891 - 1971)

Date12 July 1962

Object number00000814

NameMenu

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 250 x 171 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from M L Breaden

Terms

DescriptionThis dinner menu from the British ocean liner, EMPRESS OF ENGLAND, depicts the SAVANNAH, which was the first ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean with the aid of steam in 1819.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.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 and this particular menu captures the history of sea travel through its dramatic depiction of the SAVANNAH. This menu would have instilled a sense of adventure for passengers travelling on the same Atlantic route in the luxury cruise liner, EMPRESS OF ENGLAND.