Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
General material designation
- Object
- Textual record
- Graphic material
Parallel title
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Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
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Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1893, 1910-2014 (Creation)
Physical description area
Physical description
2.9 m of textual records.
29 photographs : b&w and col.
5 vinyl enclosures.
1 fan.
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Harley J. Spiller was born in 1959 in Buffalo, New York. He is a museum educator, collector and author and is known for his collections of menus and coins. Spiller graduated from Northwestern University and, in 1981, moved to New York to pursue a career in the museum field. Soon after his move, Spiller received a job as an administrative assistant for the curatorial department of the Jewish Museum.
Spiller first began collecting menus on his nightly walks up and down the streets of the Upper West Side, where he lived when he started working at the Jewish Museum. Harley, an English major, took advantage of the free and easily accessible mass printed take out menus available as a result of the “menuing” phenomenon occurring at this time. When Spiller moved to a new apartment in Manhattan, he continued his nightly walks and collecting menus. As others heard about his growing collection of menus they began to gift their own menus that they had accumulated. The collection of menus and Chinese cuisine related artifacts was augmented through eBay purchases made by Spiller.
Spiller’s material, both menus and artifacts, have been featured in several museum displays and exhibits including the “A Million Menus” exhibit.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The collection comprises menus from around the world featuring a variety of cuisines including Afghan, American Argentinian, Armenian, Asian, Bangladeshi, Brazilian, Burmese, Cambodian, Caribbean, Chinese (Peking, Szechuan, Shanghai, Yunnan, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hunan and Jiangnan), Colombian, Cuban, Dutch, Ecuadorian, Egyptian, European, Filipino, Finnish, French, Hong Kong style, Indian, Indochinese, Indonesian, Islamic, Israeli, Italian, Jamaican, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Latin American, Lebanese, Malaysian, Mediterranean, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Mongolian, Moroccan, Mughlai, Nepalese, Pakistani, Pan-Asian, Peruvian, Russian, Scandinavian, Singaporean, Southwestern, Spanish, Taiwanese, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Venezuelan, Vietnamese, seafood and vegetarian.
Menus are from restaurants located in Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, China (Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai), Egypt, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Turkey, Vietnam, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados Bermuda, Canada (British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Yukon Territory), Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, El Salvador, Greenland, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, the United States (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming), Australia, New Caledonia (France) New Zealand, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Venezuela.
Menus types included placemat menus, single sheet menus, trifold and four fold menus, five fold, seven fold and menus in booklet style. Some menus are laminated while others are in vinyl enclosures. Menus range from take away and delivery, to eat in and include wine lists, menus for cafes, breakfast menus and menus for cafeteria lunches.
The material is divided into Series 1 Menus. The series is divided into 6 subseries: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America.
Notes area
Physical condition
Material is prone to tearing. Several booklet style menus are coming apart at the binding.
Immediate source of acquisition
Material was purchased by UTSC and transferred to Collections at UTSC Library by Harley J. Spiller in December 2014. In August 2015, Archives & Special Collections took over the care of the material.
Arrangement
Material was arranged by the Archivist. Records are arranged by geographic region and alphabetically.
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Material is open for research. Some material may be restricted due to preservation concerns.
A portion of the menus may not be available due to ongoing digitization.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Material can be reproduced for scholarly purposes and private research. Copyright is retained by the owners. Permissions must be obtained from the copyright holder to publish materials.
Finding aids
File list available. Please visit https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/harley-j-spiller-collection for a complete description of the material.
Associated materials
Accruals
Accruals are expected.
General note
Citation of the material should include the following elements:
University of Toronto Scarborough Library, Archives & Special Collections, Fonds/Collection title, Series Name - Box # File # - Item # (if applicable).
Alternative identifier(s)
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Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Description entered by Amanda Tomé, August 2016.