by JKCalhoun on 9/18/25, 1:04 PM
I've been scanning and cleaning up a 200 page book that is a collection of "Travel Mats" that were printed during the Route 66 heyday [1].
Each focuses on a specific highway and list motel and diner stops.
[1] Example: https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F...
I should have it done and posted to archive.org this Fall sometime.
by comrade1234 on 9/18/25, 1:11 PM
Reminds me of this collection of Chinese menus in North America dating back to 1896:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-worlds-largest-col...It was collected by a private collector in New York then recently sold to the university of Toronto. I first heard about it it maybe a decade ago and have been waiting for a coffee table book since.
I would also be interested in recipes to go with the historic menus. For example dishes with sweet and sour have changed a lot from more liquid and vinagery to the goopy sweet mess we get now.
by rorylaitila on 9/18/25, 6:35 PM
Very cool. I found some vintage ads at an antique shop a decade ago... and now I have over 100k in inventory. I had to limit the collecting to only major publications. There is so much vintage paper to be found. But I'd like to find some placements with local ads if such a thing exists.
Last year I started publishing full page ads from the collection, I've got about 1000 online (https://adretro.com).
by twic on 9/18/25, 3:40 PM
by creddit on 9/18/25, 5:52 PM
I think the Cliff's mat is quite attractive actually.
However, my favorite by far, is the Greenville Lodge! Such a pretty looking graphic but if you look closely at the address/location information you see "Opposite Du Pont Plant"! That's fantastically mid-century to me. It's like a subtle joke you would've seen on Mad Men.
My first impression from that mat was that it was AI generated hah
by Theodores on 9/18/25, 1:54 PM
These hark back to a time before franchises took over. Nowadays, anyone wanting a restaurant (and customers) is obligated to make it a McDonalds (or other well known chain). If they don't, then McBigChain comes to town and they have no customers.
What is odd about this state of affairs is that everyone wants Mom and Pop, family owned, unique diners, however, where do people go when the kids in the back want their Happy Meals? You always know what you are going to get in a chain, and that is the magic of franchising.
by jihadjihad on 9/18/25, 1:29 PM
The IHOP one is great, almost looks like a poster for a midcentury film, like John Ford or something.
by itomato on 9/18/25, 3:26 PM
by easton on 9/18/25, 12:56 PM
Until this point I didn't know Big Tex was real and not just something in King of the Hill. And I've been to Texas!
Guess it's time to go back.
by poulsbohemian on 9/19/25, 3:58 PM
Couple years ago I was in a thrift shop and came across one of these for a steak restaurant - and there was my family cattle brand! Was done to highlight that their meat came from area ranchers, and now will make lovely wall art at my home. No idea if anyone older in the family recalled these placemats or when they were printed.
by bluenose69 on 9/18/25, 9:25 PM
The cleanest one caught my eye, and then I read that it was a restaurant, Cy's, that was in Moncton, NB, about half an hour's drive from where I grew up. Although I never ate there, seeing that brought back fond childhood memories of the grownups talking about crossing the border to eat there.
by stronglikedan on 9/18/25, 7:42 PM
That Florida one looks so familiar, that I'm sure I've visited someplace that used it. Or perhaps I'm just thinking of the maps of Italy that used to be popular on the placemats of Italian restaurants.
by mcphage on 9/18/25, 2:50 PM
by jmclnx on 9/18/25, 2:51 PM
Very nice, I got a chuckle from the one that said "How do you want your eggs".
In the 80s where I worked, we had a large project to enhance the systems to our plant in Ireland. So for a couple of months a team from Ireland came here to the US to work with us.
The question "How do you want your eggs" at a breakfast place confused them to no end. Seems at the time in Ireland, eggs only were cooked one way, kind of like pouched. I do not know if that is now still true.
by gdubs on 9/20/25, 3:12 PM
As someone who grew up in the 80s/90s, this brings back memories because these types of placemats were still being used in a lot of places. And it's funny because today we talk about "iPad kids" and I'm reminded that staring at a mid-century designed map on a placement was basically the entirety of "entertainment" provided on the very rare occasion we went out to eat somewhere.
by CGMthrowaway on 9/18/25, 1:17 PM
This is a great collection. I'd love to print up a custom one for hosting purposes. Anyone know a supplier who makes these off the shelf? Or will I have to work with a local print shop.
by burnt-resistor on 9/19/25, 12:39 AM
I've seen some interesting modern ones in rural Oklahoma.
by diogenescynic on 9/19/25, 6:25 AM
These are beautiful. Love the character and level of detail put into them. Really glad this was shared.
by daryn on 9/18/25, 9:54 PM
Love this! Menu design has really lost a lot of it's art, especially with online ordering.
by caycep on 9/19/25, 4:30 PM
Will they archive the "James Huang" placemats here in Southern California?
