TL;DR — This is an original breakfast menu from White Star Line, February 11, 1900, preserved in the Buttolph Collection at The New York Public Library. The cover features the White Star Line’s distinctive red burgee with the white five-pointed star — the visual mark that flew from every White Star vessel and appeared on every printed item aboard. Restored and reformatted at 300 DPI, it prints as archival wall art in three sizes.
By The Menu Press · Published August 2026
What this card is
White Star Line, February 11, 1900. Breakfast service in 1900 on a White Star express liner was a substantial multi-course meal. The first transatlantic crossings of the twentieth century coincided with a major expansion of first-class passenger comfort, including extended dining rooms, à la carte options, and menus printed daily from on-board printing presses.
The line and the moment
The R.M.S. Oceanic was launched in 1899 as White Star’s flagship — at 17,272 gross tons she was the largest ship in the world at the time of her completion. Designed by Harland & Wolff in Belfast, Oceanic represented White Star’s strategy of competing not on speed but on size, comfort, and stability. Many of the design principles she introduced would later define the Olympic-class giants.
Reading the design
The cover features the White Star Line’s distinctive red burgee with the white five-pointed star — the visual mark that flew from every White Star vessel and appeared on every printed item aboard. The gold OSNC monogram refers to Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, White Star’s official corporate name.
Why it works on a wall today
Printed at 300 DPI, the card reads well at every size we offer. The 16×20 anchors a wall on its own; the 11×14 works in a multi-menu grouping; the 8×10 suits a shelf or a narrow space.
A simple frame and a generous mat let the original printing — the ink, the paper tone, the period typography — carry the room. Hung as a pair or in a chronological sweep with other cards from the same line, a single menu becomes a small history of dining at sea.
White Star Line · R.M.S. Oceanic · 1900 is available as an instant download in three print sizes (8×10, 11×14, 16×20) at 300 DPI, each in a pure and a museum-labelled version. View the full print →
Frequently asked questions
Is this an original historic menu or a modern reproduction?
It is an original historic menu — a single card from White Star Line, February 11, 1900, held in the Buttolph Collection at The New York Public Library and digitised at high resolution. We restore and reformat the scan for modern printing; the underlying artwork is the period original.
What print size works best?
The 16×20 inch print is the boldest single-wall choice and reads from across a room. The 11×14 suits a grouping of several menus; the 8×10 fits a shelf or a tight space. All three ship at 300 DPI.
What was White Star Line?
The R.M.S. Oceanic was launched in 1899 as White Star’s flagship — at 17,272 gross tons she was the largest ship in the world at the time of her completion.
Further reading
- The Golden Age of Ocean Liner Dining, 1880-1930
- The Buttolph Collection: A Curator’s Guide
- See the print: White Star Line · R.M.S. Oceanic · 1900
The Menu Press curates, digitally restores, and reformats public-domain menus from the Buttolph Collection of Menus, The New York Public Library, for archival-quality printing as wall art. Browse the archive · Read our story.