The menu collection is a valuable resource for students and faculty in Communication Design. Located in Special Collections on the main floor of the Library, this collection contains over 3500 menus from around the world.
The thirty-five boxes of menus cover the period from 1950s to the 1990s. However, the majority of the menus are from the 1960s - 1980s. They have been organized primarily by geographic location with the exception of travel craft menus (airlines, cruise ships, and train), which are organized by type of craft and indicate points of departure and arrival in the menu title.
Many of the menus are beautiful works of art with interesting use of typography, layout, graphics, shape, and design. They range from delicate hand-written pages to large leather-bound menus.
Shirley Lipovsky's collection was donated to Emily Carr University of Art + Design in 2001. Ms. Lipovsky began her restaurant menu collection in the 1950s. During this time she began writing away for menus from around the world and receiving them as gifts from friends.
Learn more about Shirley Lipovsky and her menu collection by reading the documents below.
The menus are in the process of being catalogued and many are searchable in our library catalogue. The menus are housed in Special Collections and are available for in-library viewing during regular library hours.
Researchers should contact the library to schedule an appointment to view the menu collection.
library@ecuad.ca 
604-844-3840 520 East 1st Avenue, Vancouver, BC