On a February morning in 1896, the Cunard liner Pavonia was steaming east across the North Atlantic. In the first-class dining saloon, stewards were laying out a breakfast that would have impressed any London club. The printed menu survives — and it tells a remarkable story about how the Edwardian elite started their day at sea.
The Golden Age of Ocean Liner Dining, 1880–1930
How dining at sea became theatre: a history of transatlantic and royal-line menus from Cunard’s 1881 Servia to White Star’s last Art Deco Olympic in 1934.