Consider the Oyster

Abstract

The "Breakfast to the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States," held on September 15, 1887 during the centennial celebration of the U.S. Constitution, was to begin with Blue Points, an Atlantic variety traditionally raised off the south shore of Long Island. Oysters were much beloved fare throughout the nineteenth century, and Blue Points were especially prized among 19th-century epicures. We’re told the Hon. J. R. Tucker and Mr. John R. Dos Passos were "unexpectedly detained." No details are provided, but we can imagine that these two gentlemen of their times were unable to contain their eagerness for the briny tang of the true Blue Point. Perhaps, en route to the Academy of Music, they unexpectedly detained themselves at the Spruce Street oyster wharves along the Delaware riverfront.