Dinner to Honor Monsieur Johnston, Bordeaux 1880s
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This extraordinary image of a lobster sitting at a table on the deck of a ship at sunset, perusing a menu and enjoying a bottle of wine, is from the famous wine-producing region of Bordeaux, France, and is dated about 1880.
Surreal imagery, portraying real or imaginary things that have the disorienting quality of a dream or hallucination, was a popular artistic expression in the late 19th century. Anthropomorphic animal-people often appeared on artwork, including menus.
This bon viveur crustacean was the front cover of the menu for a dinner held in honor of ‘Monsieur Johnston.’
We believe this would have been Nathaniel Johnston VI of the famous Nathaniel Johnston & Fils, a company that has been serving the wine trade for three centuries. Established in 1734 by William Johnston, of Scottish descent, the company began as a shipping entity and then started to age ‘New French Claret’ in its own cellars.
In 1840, Johnston oversaw an expansion of the business that led the company to become part owners of Château Latour. It acquired Château Ducru-Beaucaillou and Château Dauzac in 1865.
A festive dish of chicken infused with truffles was on offer for ‘Monsieur Johnston’s' dinner and – of course – there was a fabulous wine list from some of the best producers in France.
The menu itself was printed Reday-Hachette, a 19th-century printing, publishing, and wine-trading business located in Bordeaux.
In 1884, working alongside estate manager Ernest David and botanist and mycologist Alexis Millardet, Johnston helped develop the famous ‘Bordeaux mixture ‘(a copper sulfate and lime solution) to combat mildew plaguing French vines.
The following year, he was invited to help formulate the legendary 1885 Bordeaux Classification. Commissioned by Emperor Napoleon II for the Paris Exposition, the historic list ranked the finest red and sweet white wines in the region.
The list covered 61 red wine estates (mostly from the Médoc plus Château Haut-Brion in Graves) and sweet white wines from Sauternes and Barsac. Red wines were split into five hierarchical ‘Growths’ (Crus), while top sweet wines included a unique Premier Cru Supérieur category for Château d'Yquem. The list remains largely unchanged today.
Clearly Johnston was held in high esteem among French winemakers and, with its name now shortened to Nath. Johnston & Fils, the 9th and tenth generations of the Johnston family continue to run one of the major Bordeaux wine merchants for Classified Growths.
With thanks to Henry Voigt.
Each order includes a print of the interior menu.
All printed in USA.
