Collection of menu cards from the Alaska Steamship Co., and the S.S. 'Alaska'

Assorted menus of breakfast, lunch and dinner meals served on board the S.S. Alaska from 24 June 1932 and 3 July 1932.

The menus (14) offer typical American fare of the period (1932) and were illustrated with totem poles, mountainous scenes, and images of outdoor activities such as canoeing, hunting, horseback riding and panning for gold.

On the reverse side of the menu cards are scenic photographs taken by Alaska-based professional photographers: Ed Andrews (1872-1937), Fisher studio, and O.C. Schallerer.

The illustrations are of: Chilkoot Barracks, an old Alaska Highway, Juneau, Childs Glacier, Skagway and Lynn Canal, Ketchikan, Wrangell, Seward, and Mt. McKinley National Park.

The Alaska Steamship Company was formed on 3 August 1894. Originally carrying passengers and fishing products, the Alaska Steamship Company began transporting mining equipment, dog sleds, and cattle at the outbreak of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1897. It merged with the Northwestern Steamship Company in 1909, but retained its name. In the post-1945 era the company struggled to compete with the new Alaska Highway for passengers and freight.

Also after the Second World War, when the freight business slowed, the company decided to focus on tourism and introduced their own older ship S.S. Alaska to the new tourist fleet in January 1946. It was later joined by the Aleutian, Baranof, Yukon, and Denali. The ships called at Ketchikan (two days journey), Juneau (three days journey) and Seward (five days journey). Intermediate ports of call included Wrangell, Petersburg, Skagway, Sitka, Cordova, Valdez, Kodiak and Seldovia. All the steamers could accommodate over 200 passengers in classes ranging from steerage to a deluxe cabin with private bath.

Access should be unrestricted but please check in advance of any consultation.

Catalogued by Graeme D. Eddie, 5 October 2016.