I used to wonder how the picture on the front of the Farrell's menu originated - was it an original rendering for Farrell's, or did it have its genesis elsewhere?

The logo which adorned most of Farrell's menus, advertisements, and other memorabilia for many years has its roots in the works of Charles Dana Gibson. His creation of the "Gibson Girl" became the foundation for most of his paintings during the early 20th century. The following painting, from 1903, shows the Gibson Girl and her "Gibson Man" in a romantic endeavor during a chess match.

(Source: "The Gibson Girl" EyeWitness - history through the eyes of those who lived it, www.ibiscom.com (2001).)

  Take away the chess board and pieces, insert a couple of soda glasses, add some clapboard paneling on the wall, hang a Farrell's sign, and viola! A logo is born.

The Gibson picture was adopted early in the Farrell's chronology. The menu picture below shows how it originally looked.

Notice that the table end became the banner for the parlour address - this lasted only for a few years. After a fifth parlour in Eugene, Oregon opened, the location information was relegated to the back of the menu. The front was rewritten to say "The West's Original Ice Cream Parlour Restaurant." Also, the Farrell's emblem was modified to add the word "Restaurant" within the marquis. When this was done, the modified picture and logo was copyrighted. This is why many menus have a 1966 copyright on them.