Another in a series about Kootenaiana being auctioned on eBay.
A menu from the SS Slocan sold for $53 US this month, despite a badly creased corner, hole, and some sort measurements pencilled on the back.
The elegant CPR sternwheeler plied Slocan Lake from 1897 to 1928, although the menu actually depicts either the SS Bonnington of the Arrow Lakes or the SS Nasookin of Kootenay Lake, both much larger vessels.
The menu dates from World War I. At that time the ship travelled Tuesdays and Fridays. On-board fare included fillet of halibut, roast mutton, and rice custard pudding.
At the bottom in small print is a directive from the food controller, asking that “all persons ordering food consider the needs of Great Britain and her Allies and their armies in the matter of wheat, beef, and bacon, and that the Public do everything in its power to add to the available supply of these articles for export by eating as possible of them.”
Serving bacon and beef on Tuesdays and Fridays was prohibited, the note went on, and while mutton and poultry were allowed, the CPR was making a point of serving eggs, vegetables, and fruits in place of meats.
The seller was in Vernon, the buyer in Nelson.
• Three Chinese artifacts from Nelson sold together last week for $78 US.
They included an envelope from the LD Cafe at 479 Baker St. Also known by several other names — including the New Star, Ken’s Cafe, Seven Seasons, Amanda’s, and latterly the Redfish Grill — this space was home to a Chinese restaurant for close to a century until it burned in July 2010.
The unused envelope advertised “High Class Restaurant & Rooms at Moderate Rates. Soda Fountain & Candy.”
Also part of the lot was a wooden stamp for Hing Wah of 624 Front Street and a wooden prescription box from Smythe’s Pharmacy for Mr. Gee Wing.
The auction, which had a starting price of $50, drew five bids.
The Vernon seller was the same as in the previous auction, while the buyer was a different one from Nelson.
• Two nice Grand Forks postcards drew healthy bids last week. Both were produced by the BC Printing and Lithograph Co. Ltd probably in the 1920s or ‘30s.
The first, showing First Street, went for $79 Cdn. The second, showing Winnipeg Ave. and the United Church, went for $37 Cdn.
The seller was in Victoria, the buyer of both in Surrey.
• Another interesting Grand Forks item that sold in December was a brass or copper watch fob with a scene of a hunter and dog on one side and inscription “Compliments/Russell Hotel/F.W. Russell/Prop./Grand Forks, B.C.” on the other.
It went for $32 US.
This story will appear in the West Kootenay Advertiser on January 19.
(CORRECTION: This story originally said that the SS Slocan menu depicted the ship of the same name.)
