This menu cover of a waitress with her hands full of delicious, cream-filled cakes is dated 1920 and comes from Lenhardt’s, once the largest candy, confectionery and ice cream manufacturer in Oakland California.

The company was established by businessman Emil Lenhardt. Born in New York and of German ancestry, arrived in California, he arrived in California in 1868 and initially learned the trade of watchmaking.

He established a cake and candy manufacturing company in 1887 and it was an immediate success. Within a few years, he moved to bigger premises and went from four employees to 140.

Perhaps because of his background in watchmaking, pictures of the Lenhardt restaurant show an establishment that was more like a jeweler’s, at least from the outside. It had elegant lettering, stained glass windows and display cases showing the sugary delights on offer and which were made in- house.

“The factory and the parlors are as complete as those of leading confectionery firms in the east, “a local newspaper report said admiringly in the early 1900s.

Mr Lenhardt died in 1911 and his wife Hattie took over the business. Her feminine touch is perhaps best illustrated in this menu cover, with its delicately drawn image of the waitress.

The most expensive item on the menu costs 75 cents and a box of chocolates with “toothsome centers” cost $3. They were shipped all over the US and the world in special tin containers.

Courtesy Private Collection.

Gallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson K3 archival inks. Custom printed with border for matting and framing.

All printed in USA.

Each product is accompanied by a copy of the interior menu where available.