“From William Jennings Bryan to the Smithsonian Institution, August 13, 1914”
TO MR. AND MRS. ROBERT TODD LINCOLN
Among the pieces of presentation silver acquired in 1960 by the Smithsonian Institution is a covered urn that was given to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Todd Lincoln by their children on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.[30] Robert Todd Lincoln, son of the President, became a prominent lawyer in Chicago and later served as president of the Pullman Company, as Secretary of War in the cabinets of President Garfield and President Arthur, and as Minister to Great Britain under President Benjamin Harrison. The silver gilt urn has two handles, measures 13 inches from the base to the finial on the cover, and 7 inches at its widest point. Bands of ornamentation feature both the grape design and the acorn and oak-leaf design. It is inscribed:
Robert Todd Lincoln––Mary Harlan 1868-1918
The gilt wash, although almost completely polished off the outside surface, still covers the inside of the urn and its lid.
TO CONGRESSMEN
A silver tureen and tray[31] were given to the Honorable James R. Mann, Republican leader of the House of Representatives, by the members of the House in 1919. Mann was elected a Representative from Illinois in 1897, and he remained a member of Congress until his death in 1922. In 1912 he became minority leader. In addition to the Mann Act, his name is associated with other important legislation of the period such as the Pure Food and Drugs Act and the Woman Suffrage Amendment.
The tray, which holds the tureen, is inscribed:
James R. Mann Republican Leader from House Members of the 65th Congress, March 3rd, 1919.
It is marked on the back with “W. Sterling, 4086––16 in.” The initial represents the Wallace Silver Company.