China service of the Lincoln administration
Mrs. Lincoln ordered or was given a third set of china with a pink border shortly before leaving the White House, and it was delivered to her private home.
Furniture throughout the executive mansion was broken, wallpaper was peeling off in many rooms, and the décor was cheap, shoddy, and tasteless.
Although Congress allotted President Buchanan $20,000 ($654,000 in 2023 dollars) to refurbish the White House when he moved in, Buchanan spent nearly all these funds on building a glass conservatory adjacent to the mansion to replace an orangery on the east side of the White House built during the Jackson administration but torn down to make way for an expansion of the Treasury Building.
[7] The East Room, which was largely unfurnished because it was used as a ballroom, retained its 1818 Federal style furniture (which had been reupholstered in 1829),[8] 1839 silver wallpaper with gold border,[9] and 1853 draperies, lace curtains, and carpet.
[1][11][12] Mary Todd Lincoln discovered that the White House china – which had been purchased in the administration of Franklin Pierce in the early 1850s – was in a sorry state.
She was accompanied by William S. Wood, interim Commissioner of Public Buildings;[18] Colonel Robert Anderson, who defied the Confederacy by attempting to hold Fort Sumter in April 1861; Mrs. Elizabeth Todd Grimsley, her sister; and a niece.
[28] These depicted an America eagle in the Napoleonic style (slender wings outspread, slender neck and head, facing right, leaning left), gripping a shield emblazoned with the U.S. colors (white band at top rimmed in blue, with blue stars on the field, and narrow red and white stripes below).
The shield tilted to the right, and the lower southeast corner was lost in rosy clouds which surrounded and were in back of the eagle.
A wide dark blue border,[28][27] its outer rim dotted with tiny white stars, encircled the plate.
The one for Abraham and Mary Lincoln consisted of a ewer and basin, covered chamber pot, soap box, brush tray, jug, foot bath, and slop jar.
[35] Haviland undoubtedly gilded the edges with the gold rope and painted the solferino band on the plate, then shipped it to New York City.
[44][39] The glassware was manufactured by Christian Dorflinger, a company based in Brooklyn, New York,[46][39] and was much thinner and lighter than the typical White House heavy crystal which had been used since the Andrew Jackson administration.
A decorative border of umbrella-like shapes was etched into the lip, and the base featured a star and fan of spreading rays.
[31] (The family's personal china, which Mrs. Lincoln bought at a discount since it was ordered at the same time as the government-owned set, cost $1,106.37.
[34][57][h] The Lincoln china was the first State Dinner Service chosen entirely by a First Lady,[23][24] and the most complete set of dinnerware ever assembled at the White House up to that time.
[60] There was so little of it left by November 1864 that Mrs. Lincoln was forced to purchase a dozen teacups with a simple colored band from the D.C. firm of Webb and Beveridge in order to host a tea party.
[61] Some crystal and buff china were seen for sale in a second-hand shop in Georgetown, and the large punch bowl made its way to Shaw's saloon in Baltimore.
Congress subsequently made a $30,000 appropriation at the end of 1865 to pay for the general refurbishment of the house (which included the china and silver replacements).
[70] The porcelain was manufactured by Haviland[71] and imported and decorated by the firm of J. W. Boteler and Brother of Washington, D.C.[24] The service consisted of plates in three sizes, compote dishes, and cups and saucers, and cost $1,207.21.
[68][j] An extensive survey of the White House china was made personally by Chester Arthur and doorkeeper Charles Loeffler in autumn 1881.
[24] After Edith Roosevelt, wife of President Theodore Roosevelt, showed intense interest in previous White House China in 1902, the firm of Dulin & Martin began offering copies of the Lincoln "solferino" and other presidential china sets for sale to the public.
[23][34] The design this time was extremely simple: A white plate, with a buff border edged in gilt lines.
Mrs. Lincoln ordered 24 plain cut goblets (probably for family dining) in November 1864 and January 1865 from the D.C. firm of Webb & Beveridge.
The bases appear to have been plain (unlike the 1861 order), except for the madeira glasses—which were more richly carved and featured the rays on the foot.
[83] On February 20, Mrs. Lincoln made an addition order of coffee cups and saucers, water pitchers, and bowls.
[64] An inventory of White House furnishings taken on May 26, 1865, showed that nearly the entire buff band china service had survived.
[69] In the late 1800s, much of the buff china service was collected by Admiral Francis W. Dickins, a noted collector of porcelain.
He misattributed this china to the administration of James Monroe, an error which was perpetuated by scholars and nonexperts alike for many years.
"[92] Food for the Inaugural Luncheon of President Barack Obama in January 2009 was served on a reproduction of the Lincoln "solferino" service.
[95] It is unclear which of the three institutions which benefitted from Beckwith's will (Iowa Wesleyan College, the American Red Cross, and the Church of Christ, Scientist) received the china and silver, or if it was sold at auction.
