China service of the Lincoln administration

The china service of the Lincoln administration generally refers to a set of purple-banded china (porcelain) dishes used for serving and eating food at the White House, home of the President of the United States. Also known as the Lincoln solferino china service (in reference to the purple border), it was purchased in April 1861 by First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. The porcelain was manufactured by Haviland & Co. in France, and some of the decoration of the china was made overseas. Additional decoration was made by the American firm of E. V. Haughwout & Co., which sold the china to Mrs. Lincoln.

Much of the china was broken or too chipped to be used by the end of the first Lincoln administration in 1864. A second set of much plainer buff china was used in the second 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.

The administration of Andrew Johnson ordered a second set of "Lincoln solferino china" in 1865, but some of this set did not survive Johnson's term in office. The administrations of Ulysses S. Grant, Chester Arthur, and Grover Cleveland also purchased replacement pieces.

Little of the original Lincoln china remains to this day. The largest collections are owned by the White House and the Smithsonian Institution, with several other smaller collections held by both public institutions and private collectors.

When the Lincolns moved into the White House in March 1861 (inaugurations did not move to January until the 1940s), they found it in a terrible state. Furniture throughout the executive mansion was broken, wallpaper was peeling off in many rooms, and the décor was cheap, shoddy, and tasteless. President James Buchanan, Lincoln's predecessor, was a lifelong bachelor. His niece, Harriet Lane, acted as hostess and de facto First Lady. Lane focused primarily on her hosting duties, rather than maintaining the White House. Although Congress allotted President Buchanan $20,000 ($525,286 in 2017 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. Only two rooms were in acceptable condition: The Blue Room and the East Room. The Blue Room had been wallpapered and carpeted in 1837 during the administration of Martin Van Buren, and the Rococo Revival gilded wood furniture (a purchase of Harriet Lane's, financed by the auction of older White House furniture) had only arrived in December 1859. The centerpiece of this suite was a large circular settee with a central table for flowers. 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), 1839 silver wallpaper with gold border, and 1853 draperies, lace curtains, and carpet. The East Room, was nonetheless, somewhat shabby.

...
Wikipedia