July 14, 1907 · S.S. Kroonland · Red Star Line · Luncheon
July 14, 1907 — Bastille Day, though not directly referenced on this Red Star menu — was a summer-season transatlantic crossing during the peak of European tourism to America. The Kroonland by this period was carrying both immigrants in third class and well-off travellers in first.
The illustration shows three first-class male passengers in a richly panelled saloon — smoking cigars, reading the newspaper, conversing. The interior detailing (Edwardian armchairs, panelled walls, ornate ceiling lamp) is authentic to first-class smoking rooms of 1907. The image was intended to advertise the comforts of Red Star’s cabin class to American businessmen contemplating European travel.
The S.S. Kroonland was launched 1902 at Cramp’s shipyard in Philadelphia — a rare American-built ocean liner, intended for Red Star’s Antwerp–New York service. At 12,760 gross tons she was one of the larger ships in the Red Star fleet.
Visual style: Illustrated cover showing first-class passengers in the ship’s smoking room or library.
What you receive
- Three print sizes: 8×10, 11×14, 16×20 inches (300 DPI, ready for any home printer or framing shop).
- Two versions of each size: a pure print (no added text) and a museum print (with a small caption: restaurant or ship, year, and source).
- A 1–2 page PDF with the menu’s historical context.
- One ZIP file, instantly downloadable after checkout.
About the source
This menu is preserved in the Buttolph Collection of Menus at The New York Public Library and is in the public domain in the United States. The Menu Press has curated, digitally restored, and reformatted the work for modern printing.
