Commercial travelers would be pleased were their banquet programs designed in imitation of a mileage book.
A literary society dinner would be appropriately graced were the program printed on parchment and wound around a wooden or ivory rod, as “books” were bound in ancient times.
EXAMPLE 217
Dignified style for menu page. By the De Vinne Press, New York
Pyrography could be blended with typography in producing odd effects in banquet programs. One way of getting results by this method is to print the menu page on a piece of soft wood, say a quarter of an inch thick, and then, by means of the pyrographic writing tool, burn a decorative border around it. Type ornaments and borders could be printed on the wood as a guide for burning the designs.
Many effective menu forms could also be evolved with the assistance of the bookbinder. Pulp board covered with an artistic cover paper makes a handsome background for mounting the menu page, which should be printed on a harmonizing stock. Italian and Japanese hand-made papers are particularly suitable for such work, and when the style of typography is made to blend with the stock the effect is rich. Domestic manufacturers, too, make a large line of artistic papers applicable to the purpose.
Example [209].—This page is from a booklet program, and is companion to Example [125] inserted in a preceding chapter. It sets forth the value of the decorative border on programs. The arrangement of the type matter is the customary one. The minor dishes are set in small type, while the damp stuff from the wine cellar is represented at the left in rubricated text letters.
Example [210].—A halftoned decorative background in olive was a feature that lent value to this page, which is one of a number of similarly treated pages in a booklet program. The classic panel design makes a good background for a menu page. The idea is applicable in many other ways.
EXAMPLE 216
A menu program used by master printers. By Charles Edward Peabody, Toronto, Ont.