Mrs. Lincoln's Dishes Sell for Thousands

Mrs. Lincoln's Dishes Sell For Thousands
from the website of the Hartford Courant www.Courant.com February 20, 2009

This plate is from the original White House set of dishes used by President Abraham Lincoln. It sold recent at Cowan's Auctions in Cincinnati for $14,100, even though it has a chip on the edge.

When Abraham Lincoln was president, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, bought a new set of dishes for the White House. Mrs. Lincoln realized a state dinner would require more dishes than were in the set bought during President Pierce's administration. Many of that set's white dishes with gold-and-blue trim had been used and broken.Mrs. Lincoln went to New York City and ordered a set from E.V. Haughwout & Co., the same company that had furnished the Pierce set. The center of the dishes is decorated with an eagle holding a red, white and blue shield and a banner saying "E Pluribus Unum."The edge is gold-and-white twisted ropes surrounding a border of purplish-red called "Soliferno," a fashionable new shade at the time.The same pattern was ordered several times in later years as new dishes were needed. This explains why some of the dishes are unmarked, some are marked "Fabrique par Haviland & Co. pour J.W. Boteler & Bro., Washington" and some are marked "Theo Haviland, Limoges, France, J.W. Boteler & Son, Washington, D. C."

All of these dishes were used in the White House. But later, some souvenir plates were made with a border in a different shade of purple. These are marked "Administration Abraham Lincoln." The souvenir plates sell for about $300 each. The authentic White House plates usually bring $4,000 to $6,000. At a Cowan Historical Americana Auction in December, a chipped 9 1/2 -inch plate sold for $14,100.

For more information on Woodmere's Lincoln china, go to www.WoodmereChina.com