TL;DR — This is an original daily menu — bremen to america service from Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, October 25, 1884, preserved in the Buttolph Collection at The New York Public Library. The cover combines a German eagle, an American shield, and a sailing ship — visually asserting NDL’s role as a German-American maritime bridge. Restored and reformatted at 300 DPI, it prints as archival wall art in three sizes.
By The Menu Press · Published August 2026
What you are looking at
Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, October 25, 1884. 1884 falls in NDL’s mid-period — between its early sail-steamer hybrids and its 1897 launch of Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, the four-funnel express liner that would win the Blue Riband for Germany. Menus from this decade reflect a transition era when transatlantic dining was still rooted in heavy German cuisine but increasingly featured French presentation and international wines.
Context: the company and the year
Norddeutscher Lloyd was founded in Bremen in 1857 to provide regular steam service between Germany and the Americas. By the 1880s NDL had become the principal German transatlantic carrier and a fierce competitor to its Hamburg-based rival, HAPAG. NDL’s eastbound service from New York to Bremen was especially important for German-American mail and for the growing Atlantic immigrant traffic.
A closer look at the artwork
The cover combines a German eagle, an American shield, and a sailing ship — visually asserting NDL’s role as a German-American maritime bridge. The gold embossing and elaborate border are characteristic of high-end commercial printing from the 1880s, when chromolithography had reached its peak.
Living with this print
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 · Daily Menu · 1884 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, October 25, 1884, 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?
Norddeutscher Lloyd was founded in Bremen in 1857 to provide regular steam service between Germany and the Americas. By the 1880s NDL had become the principal German transatlantic carrier and a fierce competitor to its Hamburg-based rival, HAPAG.
Further reading
- The Golden Age of Ocean Liner Dining, 1880-1930
- The Buttolph Collection: A Curator’s Guide
- See the print: Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen · Daily Menu · 1884
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.