Left Bank Bistro Menu, Paris, France
Date2000, printed c. 2002
Artist
Ralph Gibson
(American photographer, born 1939)
MediumChromogenic color print
Dimensionsimage: 18 × 12 in. (45.7 × 30.5 cm)
sheet: 19 15/16 × 15 15/16 in. (50.6 × 40.5 cm)
sheet: 19 15/16 × 15 15/16 in. (50.6 × 40.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Daniel Calacci, 2003
Object number2003-30.2
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPHOTOGRAPH
Label TextThe French word menu comes from the Latin minor or minutus. It was the name of a document used by the ancient Greeks to describe the foods and wines that were about to be served at a feast. The minutus gave the guests an idea of what was going to happen and allowed them to plan their intake accordingly. The earliest restaurants were established in Paris during the second half of the 1700s and menus were used from the beginning. At one point, the menu became a list of possible dishes but din not represent what was actually available at the moment--they often listed as many as a thousand separate dishes. The a la carte menu that presented a list of dishes that were readily available and marked with their cost allowed the diner to ake an individual selection. They first became established during the early 1800s.
—Burt Wolf
