TL;DR — This is an original speisenfolge — the german formal term for a multi-course menu from Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, April 2, 1901, preserved in the Buttolph Collection at The New York Public Library. The cover painting depicts an NDL express liner running through a long Atlantic sunset. Restored and reformatted at 300 DPI, it prints as archival wall art in three sizes.
By The Menu Press · Published September 2026
The card, precisely
Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, April 2, 1901. “Speisenfolge” — literally “sequence of dishes” — was the standard German term for the formal dinner menu used aboard NDL ships. The structure followed the European multi-course tradition: hors d’oeuvre, soup, fish, entrée, roast with vegetables, salad, dessert, cheese, and coffee.
The company behind the card
By 1901 Norddeutscher Lloyd was at the height of its express-liner era. The company’s Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, launched 1897, had taken the Blue Riband for Germany. NDL was preparing the launch of three more express liners in 1901–1903 — Kronprinz Wilhelm, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Kronprinzessin Cecilie. NDL and HAPAG together would carry roughly half of all transatlantic passenger traffic by 1910.
The design, element by element
The cover painting depicts an NDL express liner running through a long Atlantic sunset. The warm orange–brown horizon, smooth long-period swell, and reflective ocean surface place the image firmly in late nineteenth-century academic marine painting tradition.
NDL commissioned marine artists annually for new cover series.
On the wall
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.
Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen · Speisenfolge (Bill of Fare) · 1901 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 Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, April 2, 1901, 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 Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen?
By 1901 Norddeutscher Lloyd was at the height of its express-liner era. The company’s Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, launched 1897, had taken the Blue Riband for Germany.
Further reading
- The Golden Age of Ocean Liner Dining, 1880-1930
- The Buttolph Collection: A Curator’s Guide
- See the print: Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen · Speisenfolge (Bill of Fare) · 1901
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.