Piccaninny Restaurant Menu - Fan Mask (1930's-40's)

A powerful—and unsettling—artifact from early-20th-century Chicago dining culture.
This die-cut advertising menu fan was issued by the Piccaninny Restaurant, located at 3901 W. Madison St., Chicago. Printed on heavy lithographed cardstock and stapled to a shaped wooden handle, the front displays the restaurant’s caricatured “mascot,” while the reverse reproduces the full printed menu—barbecued spareribs 60¢, tenderloin 90¢, pie 10¢—a striking time capsule of Depression- and wartime-era pricing.

The Piccaninny brand operated multiple Chicago barbecue houses in the 1930s–40s and extended its imagery across matchbooks, sauce ads, and custom restaurant china (Jackson China and Bailey-Walker ware). The same caricature appeared on plates, menus, and promotional giveaways, forming a complete advertising identity built on what was then normalized racist iconography. Today, such pieces are studied and preserved as key evidence of Jim Crow–era commercial design and the intersection of race and marketing in everyday American life.

Manufacturer: Unknown Chicago regional printer, c. 1930s–40s

Material: Lithographed cardstock, wooden handle, steel staples

Dimensions: Approx. 12 in tall (including handle)

Origin: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Condition: Good + to very good for age – moderate edge toning, minor staining on reverse, vivid color on front, staples secure, menu fully legible.