[Food and Beverage]

Menu for the Lawler Hotel Coffee Shop with Elmer Jacobs Illustration

[Lawler, Iowa]: [Lawler Hotel], [1947]. Elmer Jacobs. Single sheet printed both sides, bifolium. Restaurant menu printed in color on sIngle sheet of stiff stock. Folded, the menu measures 7.75 x 11.5 inches; opened, 15.5 x 11.5 inches. Front cover presents a three-color Elmer Jacobs illustration; interior menu items printed two-color, with the addition of a color photograph. Slight bends to top edge, else a bright, fresh copy. Item #6371

We've posited 1947 as the publication date as mere speculation, based on prices within the menu (bacon and two eggs, 50 cents), the number "47" in the printer's ID code, and the style of Elmer Jacobs' cover illustration, which is consistent with his immediate post-WWII work. In the interest of providing further ambiguity, we're not sure where the Lawler Hotel was located. Presumably, Lawler, IA, based on Jacobs' activity in the Midwest.

That said, we are certain about the quality of the Elmer Jacobs illustration: a spare, mid-century design that at once conveys simplicity and Heartland charm. To successfully express a traditional motif (farm girl, barn, farm animals) with a modern aesthetic is a triumph in itself. Scarce. Menu is now house in a removable, clear archival sleeve with acid-free backing.

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Price: $75.00