Smoking Joe's Restaurant Menu - fan mask (1940's-50's)

A deeply reflective piece of mid-century American advertising ephemera — a double-sided restaurant menu fan from Smokin’ Joe’s Restaurant, printed on die-cut card stock with a racially caricatured “porter” face illustration on the front, mounted to a flat wooden handle. The reverse features the full printed menu, including “Barbecued Beef 30¢,” “Ham and Pork Specials,” and beverages from 5¢ to 10¢

These fans were distributed to customers as practical cooling devices in restaurants, cafes, and roadside diners before air conditioning became common — a hallmark of the Jim Crow advertising period, when racial stereotypes were unfortunately normalized in commercial art. Today, pieces like this are preserved and studied for their historic relevance — documenting the intersection of marketing, social history, and race representation in 20th-century America.

Manufacturer: Unknown (likely Southern U.S. regional print house, ca. 1940s–1950s)

Material: Lithographed card stock with wooden handle, stapled construction

Dimensions: Approx. 12" tall (including handle)
Origin: U.S.A.

Condition: Very good for age; light edge wear and surface marks, staples intact, menu text legible.

Type: Advertising / Restaurant / Racial Caricature / Ephemera

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Historical Note:
While this imagery reflects a painful chapter in American visual culture, it holds genuine importance as a museum-level example of discriminatory iconography in advertising history.