Despite Commissioner French’s concern, the account was not completely settled until a year after the china had been delivered. The first bill is receipted as paid on August 29, 1865, at which time it was endorsed “Received from B B French C. P. Bgs the above amnt of Two thousand three hundred & thirty two dollars in full of this account.” (The difference between this amount and that given above is accounted for by the fact that the original order included 4 dozen goblets and 28 dozen wineglasses of various sizes, costing a total of $632.50.) The second bill was paid on February 10, 1866.
The inventory made when Mrs. Lincoln turned over the White House to President Johnson lists under china and glassware “One full set China,” which was certainly this buff and gold service, and “3 small remnants of china sets nearly all broken up,” which must have included the remaining pieces of the royal-purple service.[13]
Evidently, the Johnsons decided to use the purple china, because we find that in less than a year they ordered replacement pieces for it. A bill from E. V. Haughwout, dated January 17, 1866[14] lists—
To the following articles of rich China Ware with Arms & Crests of the U.S. to replace the pieces broken & lost of the Solferino sett viz
| 1 | salad dish, 4 pickles, 36 custard cups, | ||
| 24 | egg cups, 18 dishes—4/10-, 6/11-, 6/13-, 1/15-, 1/18-inch | ||
| 6 | comports 3/high, 2/low, & 1/shell | ||
| 2 | dessert sugars, 2 round baskets | ||
| 2 | butter dishes, 31 dinner plates | ||
| 57 | dessert plates, 48 tea plates | ||
| 25 | soup " , 26 preserve " | ||
| 36 | breakfast coffees, 36 black coffees | ||
| 36 | teas, 1 Cake plate, 4 pitchers | ||
| 1 | Ice bowl | 2061.25 |
Even with this second order, which almost equalled the original in size and cost, the purple set did not last; early in the administration of President Grant not enough of it was left to set the table in the State Dining Room satisfactorily. Those who handled the Lincoln set grew weary, it is said, of the constant breakage and became convinced that not careless handling but “bad luck in the china itself” was destroying both the dishes and the patience of those who were responsible for them.[15]
The story of the china associated with the Lincoln administration must also include a service used by the Lincolns at the summer White House which they maintained on the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C. Recently, the Quartermaster Corps of the Army turned over to the White House for the china collection some pieces of Royal Worcester china used in the house at the time of President Lincoln’s occupancy. It has a wide border of tiny gray and yellow flowers in a diaper design, with a multicolored floral wreath in the center of the plate. This use of English china and the informal design of the set is noteworthy, as almost every set of official china up to this time had been French, and French china continued to be used at the White House until almost the end of the 19th century.
It is appropriate in this discussion of the Lincoln china to mention the number of commemorative reproductions which were made for sale to the general public as souvenirs in the last quarter of the 19th century. The earliest of these reproduction pieces seem to be some which are marked on the back “Fabriqué par Haviland & Co./Pour/J. W. Boteler & Bro./Washington.” The firm of J. W. Boteler and Brother is first listed in the Washington City Directory in 1867 and it was in existence until 1881 when the name of the firm was changed to J. W. Boteler & Son. The dates of Boteler & Brother encompasses the period of the celebration of the Centennial of the United States in 1876. This celebration created intense interest in the Presidency and objects which symbolized the office, providing a ready market for copies of the Lincoln china. Indeed several different pieces of White House china have been brought to our attention with family legends that they were purchased at the “World’s Fair.” In each case it has been clear that the “Fair” meant the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. Two reproduction plates have been brought to the Smithsonian Institution for examination. On both of these the words “Administration/Abraham Lincoln” were stamped on the back in red. It is well for collectors of White House china to remember that the original pieces of the Lincoln service did not bear any mark on the reverse.
Figure 12.—Drawing of the mark found, in red, on the two plates submitted to the Museum for identification.