The Lunch Hour: Portsmouth, 1800 to 1950

Samuel Johnson in his 1755 dictionary defined the word lunch: “as much food as a hand can hold,” in other words a snack. The main meal of the day, dinner, was a hot meal eaten at home with family and apprentices or field hands, at approximately 2pm. For travelers there were hotels and taverns. During the 19th century, under the pressures of industrialization, workers were given a fixed time for their mid-day meal, often one-half hour or less. Office workers similarly had no time to go home and back to work. Various kinds of solutions arose. This exhibition explores what happened next.

A cold lunch brought to the work site was the simplest solution. It didn’t work if you lived in a boarding house and were part of a 1000-person workforce. Street peddlers, selling bread or oysters filled a gap. Oyster saloons, large, and indoors, were established. In 1893 the World’s Columbian Exposition introduced a new approach to efficiently serve large groups of people, the cafeteria. It worked well for factories, hospitals and schools.

By the late 19th century, women felt more comfortable in public outings with friends. Some young women started working in factories and offices. Various eating establishments catered to them. Oyster saloons provided eating rooms for women, often on the second floor. Tea rooms opened to serve tea and sandwiches in a genteel environment. Middle-class women, who did not work, planned outings to tea rooms and fancy hotels such as the Wentworth Hotel in New Castle. The newly popular automobile was an incentive to plan a day out.

Further innovations took place as the late 19th century turned into the 20th century. Soda fountains, lunch wagons, fixed-place diners, and luncheonettes were introduced. Lobsters became an attraction for tourists. The exhibition explores all these creative solutions for the lunch hour.