First Menu, British Airways, 2005

The Lawrence M. Nagin Airline Menu and Memorabilia Collection is a unique collection of transportation materials centered on the aviation industry of the late 20th century. Lawrence M. Nagin (1941-2009) was an airline executive with tenures at various airlines, notably Tiger Airlines, United Airlines, and US Airways. The collection is not limited to materials related to Lawrence Nagin’s professional career; a second component of the collection includes various materials from the travels of Lawrence Nagin and his wife Sherrie Nagin.

Menus in the collection reflect Lawrence Nagin’s career in the aviation industry: United Airlines and US Airways are prominently represented in the collection. Additionally, there are menus from more than thirty domestic and international airlines, which reflect the wide scope of Lawrence Nagin’s business and personal travel. While there are some items dating from the mid-20^th century, the bulk of the menu collection is from the 1980s and 1990s. Of special interest are 175 menus of Air France and British Airways Concorde flights.

The second component of the collection is from Lawrence and Sherrie Nagin’s personal travels; unlike the menu component of the collection, the travel component materials extend well into the first decade of the 21^st century. These materials vary widely in type, scope, and number: they include photographs, postcards, tickets, luggage tags, souvenirs, and other travel memorabilia. Of special interest is a large set of materials from the Nagins’ travels on the Cunard and other cruise lines.