Feast on Thanksgiving Dinner Menus from These Historic NYC Hotels

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Hello Turkey Lovers!

Check out these Thanksgiving menus (below) borrowed from the Rare Books Collection of the New York Public Library. Elegant and mouth-watering.

We have a friend who recently became a Rare Books librarian in the most spectacular library in New York City. She provided us with an exclusive look, which we now share with you.

The good ol’ days. Pre-stove top stuffing. Once you’re done drooling, don’t forget to grab those masks, you little mummers! If you’re not sure what that means, head on over for a refresher:

There was once a time when Thanksgiving custom more resembled Halloween masquerading than turkey and history lessons. That’s right. So get out your masks, people! Thanksgivoween is upon is. Check the history.

Two key words: masking and mumming. To surmise thousands of years of he said/he said, most agree the word masking encompasses all forms of dressing up in masks or garb: mumming, masquerades, caroling, wassailing…to the 18th century, this time in New York City. It was during this period that children and young adults began dressing as poor people and subsequently earned the nickname “ragamuffins.” That was their disguise. The rich and the poor dressed as the poor. It was the first time cross-dressing became socially acceptable. Brothers would wear their sisters’ garments and frolic in the streets. By the late 19th century, Thanksgiving itself was known as “Ragamuffin Day.”

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Mumming can be traced back – and I do mean way back – to the 1300s.

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all. Enjoy every moment including the “itis.”

A special thanks to Diane DeFazio for satiating our appetite to know what people’s tastes were in the early 20th century.

Fin.

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