Where are you spending the holidays this year? Would you spend them on a cruise ship? This is exactly what passengers of the C.P.R. steamship Empress of Australia did in 1929:
The photograph above shows Christmas party decorations on board the Empress of Australia, and the wait staff all dressed very smartly, ready to serve Christmas dinner. We also have in the collection the menu for Christmas dinner on that cruise. They served:
-Melon Supreme
– Caviar on toast
– Eggs Strasbourgeoise
-Mixed olives
-Celery
-Salted nuts
-Turtle au Medere
– Cream of chicken Marie Louise
– Fried silver smelts, sauce Figaro
-Supreme of Turbot Yvonne
-Breast of Chicken aux truffles
-Coeur d’artichauds
-Baron of Scotch beef a l’anglaise
-Potatoes persillee chateau
-Cauliflower sauce creme
-Punch Romaine
-Roast turkey, cranberry sauce
-Wafer chips
-Heart of lettuce
-Thousand Island dressing
-Xmas pudding
-Yule log
-Bombe Dame Blanche
Sounds… elaborate! May you have a wonderful holiday season and an easier to prepare menu than this one.
To search for photographs and ephemera related to the CPR cruise ships, try searching for keywords such as “tour” or “cruise” in conjunction with “Empress,” or the name of a specific ship. Happy searching and happy holidays!
A reminder that the Chung Collection and Rare Books and Special Collections is closed over the holidays- from Dec. 24 to January 2 inclusive. We re-open at 9 am on January 3.