This 1930s wine list cover from the Seaside Hotel, one of the grand hotels that lined Atlantic City’s famous wooden boardwalk, is an outstanding example of humorous menu art. It touts the iconic New Jersey resort as the playground of the world and shows all the activities people could pursue during the summer season. It is full of wonderfully-drawn vignettes of holidaymakers.
Author Mary Pilon in her book The Monopolists described Atlantic City in the late 19th and early 20 centuries a “glittering theater.”
“Hotels were the undisputed kings of Atlantic City, with their owners engaged in a race to create the best and grandest accommodations ever seen,” she writes.
Although the Seaside Hotel, which was built in 1862, was not the biggest n the boardwalk, it was once of the fanciest and it gave great import to the alcoholic beverages that it served.
Correct drinking is an art, the interior of this menu notes rather pompously, while advising clients who had been starved of “proper beverages” during Prohibition to enjoy fine wines and champagnes with their food. The wine list itself features amazing vintages and even features absinthe, the highly alcoholic drink that was said to be dangerous and addictive.

Courtesy Private Collection.

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