Video Idea: Pictures and Menus

So there’s not a lot of media on food production from 1790-1860, but museums and libraries have paintings, drawings, and other pictures that we could probably utilize for our video. I’ve even seen restaurant menus from the mid 1800s in Gastropolis and some blog sites that showcase some popular meals that New Yorkers were eating during this time. I have a feeling that our subject is going to be very text, chart, and map-oriented, so it’d be nice to fit in some of these images as well.

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6 Responses to Video Idea: Pictures and Menus

  1. borovilas says:

    I this is a fantastic idea. I like that you mentioned using drawings from books because some I have seen are just perfect; Gotham: A History of New York has some really nice ones of the Erie Canal. Also, New York City Neighborhoods; the 18th Century has a bunch of maps featuring the locations of markets in the city. I think maybe we could feature them in the introduction of the video at least.

    • I agree, it’s a good idea. I have a book with maps of the taverns in NYC during the eighteenth century. This eclectic stuff clearly exists!

      • This will definitely add some life to the video I think. Maps of taverns or menus will help bridge the large gap between the original time period and the 21st century audience. Having something that people can relate to and are interested in (such as the types of beverages, meats, or fish that were available) will help give the video a way to connect to the audience.

  2. Molly Steinblatt says:

    Including menus and photos is definitely a good way to make a video consisting primarily of charts more interesting. To make the video even more exciting, perhaps you could somehow act out the process of the production in a skit of some sort.

  3. Eli Bierman says:

    We definitely need some nice pictures for our presentation. Menus would be great. In my research I also came across some nice pictures of farming in Brooklyn. We might think about adding some of these pictures, as they show places that are now densely built upon when they were just farmland. Some good pictures can be found in Of Cabbages and Kings County.

  4. karengregory says:

    http://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/thanksgiving-menu-at-the-plaza-hotel-1899/

    This menu comes from the New York Public Library’s incredible collection of 40,000-plus menus.

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