Overview of the Collection |
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| Creator: | Nelson, Kay Shaw |
| Title: | Kay Shaw Nelson Papers |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1950-1980 |
| Quantity: | 3 linear ft. |
| Abstract: | Collection of American and international menus, recipes, cookbooks. |
| Language: | English, numerous other languages. |
| Repository: |
Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Library 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 http://scrc.syr.edu |
Kay Shaw Nelson is an American writer and researcher on a variety of current and historical topics relating to food and travel.
Born in Hanover, New Hampshire, Ms. Nelson graduated from Syracuse University in 1948 with a degree in Russian studies and journalism. She worked as a reporter for several New Hampshire newspapers before taking a job as an intelligence officer for the CIA. Beginning in 1951, she and her husband Wayne, also a CIA intelligence officer, spent many years abroad in the Middle East, the Far East, Europe, Africa, North and South America, and the Caribbean. In 1997 she wrote an introduction entitled "How to go from spies to pies: Operation Gastronomy" for the best-selling cookbook Spies, Black Ties, & Mango Pies: Stories and Recipes from CIA Families All Over the World. The author of numerous cookbooks and hundreds of articles in national publications such as the Washington Post, Gourmet, Woman's Day, and Family Circle, she is also a newspaper columnist and culinary historian.
"Menu" comes from the Latin "minutus," meaning "small" or "detailed." One of the earliest known menus as print artifact dates from 1541, when the Duke of Brunswick compiled a list of dining options for his guests. Prior to this, early menus were usually intended for the chef, not the guests, as a set of instructions for the order of dishes. The individual menu reached its height in the early 19th century, and many of Europe's most talented artists illustrated them.
The Kay Shaw Nelson Papers consists of clippings, ethnic and regional recipes and cookbooks, menus, and miscellany. The majority of the collection consists of menus dating from the 1950s to the present, representing a wide range of nationalities, ethnicities, cuisines and occasions. In addition to samples from across the United States, the collection contains examples from Asia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Corsica, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia, Scotland, Spain, St. Lucia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, and other countries. The collection is particularly strong in Germany, Australia, the British Isles, and Asia. Airline and ship menus are also represented.
The collection has not yet been processed and remains in original order (grouped geographically) as received.
There are no access restrictions on this material.
Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
Many of the cookbooks donated with the menu collection have been transferred to Rare Books for cataloging. Please refer to SUMMIT, our main catalog for a complete listing.
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Kay Shaw Nelson Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Library
Gift of Kay Shaw Nelson, 2008.
Created by: MRC
Date: 15 Sep 2008
Revision history: 21 Dec 2010 - processed (MRC)
| Clippings | |||||||||||
| Alice B. Toklas | |||||||||||
| Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings | |||||||||||
| Mrs. Beeton | |||||||||||
| Portugal | |||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||||||
| Ethnic and regional cooking | |||||||||||
| General | |||||||||||
| Arabia | |||||||||||
| China | |||||||||||
| Denmark | |||||||||||
| Finland | |||||||||||
| France | |||||||||||
| Germany | |||||||||||
| Hungary | |||||||||||
| Iceland | |||||||||||
| Italy | |||||||||||
| Japan | |||||||||||
| Mexico | |||||||||||
| Morocco | |||||||||||
| New Zealand | |||||||||||
| Norway | |||||||||||
| Spain | |||||||||||
| Switzerland | |||||||||||
| Turkey | |||||||||||
| United States | |||||||||||
| General | |||||||||||
| Alabama | |||||||||||
| Delaware | |||||||||||
| Florida | |||||||||||
| Hawaii | |||||||||||
| Kentucky | |||||||||||
| Louisians | |||||||||||
| Native American | |||||||||||
| Virginia | |||||||||||
| Ingredients | |||||||||||
| Bread and pasta | |||||||||||
| Garlic | |||||||||||
| Olive oil | |||||||||||
| Rice | |||||||||||
| Seafood (2 folders) | |||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||||||
| Menus | |||||||||||
| (need to retrieve these boxes and process) | |||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||||||
| ALCOA | |||||||||||
| Campbell's Soup | |||||||||||
| Holidays | |||||||||||
| Wine and food catalogs | |||||||||||
