Club's dinner, 1895.
Menu cards list the many courses served at meals for special occasions.
Often decorative and collectible, many have survived since the 19th century.
Edinburgh Skating Club
In the winter months, the Edinburgh Skating Club held regular dinners, which were of great importance in the club's social life.
From the 1870s, they produced elaborately decorated and often humorous menu cards.
The fare was often traditionally Scottish, with oysters, cock-a-leekie soup, haggis and sheep's head broth.
Other menus list more high-class French dishes.
Service 'a la russe'
In the early 19th century, dining tradition shifted from the French style to the Russian style.
The French style served all dishes on the table at once and diners helped themselves.
In the new 'a la russe' style — shown on the Edinburgh Skating Club menu — servants offered diners individual portions from a succession of courses.
Menu cards were on show in 'Lifting the lid', our exhibition on Scotland's food history, which ran at the National Library from 12 June to 8 November 2015.