WALDORF / FOOD. Dinner in Honor of Oscar Tschirky

Item Details

Dinner in Honor of Oscar Tschirky (“Oscar of the Waldorf”), April 11th, 1929 – Illustrated Menu and Program

New York: Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, 1929.

Large illustrated menu/program (approx. 16 x 11 inches), printed in blue monochrome with red accents on heavy paper stock, rolled and housed in original protective blue wrapper with gilt titling (“Dinner in honor of Oscar Tschirky, April 11th, 1929”) and tied with orange ribbon. Very good condition; clean and vivid internally with only light edge crimping from storage; original tissue guard present.

A lavishly designed commemorative menu for a dinner given by the Hotel Executives’ Club to honor Oscar Tschirky, the famed maître d’hôtel of the Waldorf-Astoria and a towering figure in American culinary history. Known popularly as “Oscar of the Waldorf,” Tschirky was instrumental in shaping the luxurious dining culture of Gilded Age and early 20th-century America, and is traditionally credited with popularizing (if not inventing) dishes such as Waldorf Salad, Eggs Benedict, and Thousand Island Dressing.

The richly illustrated program features a portrait of Tschirky within an ornate frame, surrounded by patriotic motifs including American flags and depictions of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. A colonial town crier scene below playfully announces the banquet.

The menu features an opulent selection of classic American and Continental dishes:

• English Turtle Soup
• Bar-le-Duc Currant Jelly
• Stuffed Saddle of Spring Lamb
• Olives, Asparagus Tips, and Sweetbreads Amandine
• Supreme of Duckling Montmorency
• Fresh Peas Parisienne
• Ice Cream in “Hotel Executive” Style
• Assorted Cakes, Coffee, Macaroons

A spectacular piece of American food history ephemera, directly tied to the early days of haute cuisine in New York and the rise of the hotel dining experience as a mark of sophistication and luxury.

Keywords: Oscar of the Waldorf; Waldorf-Astoria; American culinary history; Gilded Age dining; hotel restaurants; historic menus; New York gastronomy; American hospitality industry; Waldorf Salad; banquet menus