first ship to bring porcelain direct to America from China was commanded
by Captain John Green, and sailed patriotically from New York on
February 22d, Washington’s birthday, 1784, and landed in return on May
11, 1785. He says: “I have now a plate of the china brought by him—the
last remaining of a whole set.” This ship was the Empress of China, and
one of her officers was Captain Samuel Shaw, a brave Revolutionary
officer who had been one of the original and active founders of the
Society of the Cincinnati; in fact, one of the framers of the
constitution of the society. Thus it is easy to see the means and manner
by which the pattern of the figure Fame bearing the Cincinnati badge,
which had been drawn by General Miranda, was conveyed to China. It is
possible, of course, that Captain Shaw brought home with him in the
Empress of China the “Cincinnati set,” as a gift for General Washington;
but General Knox had a similar set. It remained in his great
china-closet at his beautiful home in Thomaston, Me., until the year
1840. A two-handled cup of this set, bearing General Knox’s initials as
well as the Order of the Cincinnati, sold for twenty-one dollars at the
Governor Lyon sale in 1876. Two of the plates that had belonged to
General Washington’s set sold at the same time for one hundred dollars
each. Though I have had two of these Cincinnati plates offered to me by
dealers, within a year, for a smaller sum, one with an authentic history
cannot now be purchased for less than three hundred dollars. A plate and
bowl were sold by Sypher in 1890 for six hundred dollars. At the Loan
Collection held at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, in 1889, on
the occasion of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of George
Washington as President of the United States, there were shown several
pieces of the Cincinnati china that had belonged to Washington, one
plate belonging to Luther Kountze, Esq., of New York; a plate and saucer
belonging to Edmund Law Rogers, Esq., of Baltimore, who is a grandson of
Eliza Parke Custis, the granddaughter of Martha Washington. Mrs. Caleb
Lyon also exhibited two plates, a tray, and teapot. These pieces, with a
pickle leaf and “small terreen,” are now in the possession of Miss Lyon,
of Staten Island, and from them the illustrations on page 231 were
taken. There are no fewer than forty pieces of this set in the National
Museum in Washington; most of these were purchased by the Government
from the Lewis family in 1878.
There are also in the National Museum several pieces of the china known
as the Martha Washington set. The smaller of the plates shown on page 9
is one of this set. Of this china Lossing writes:
“The set of china presented at the same time by the French officers to
Mrs. Washington was of similar material, but more delicate in color than
the General’s. The ornamentation was also far more delicate, excepting
the delineation of the figure and Cincinnati Order on the former. Around
the outside of each tureen and the inside of each plate and saucer is
painted in delicate colors a chain of thirteen large and thirteen small
elliptical links. Within each large link is the name of one of the
original thirteen States. On the sides of the cups and tureens, and in
the bottom of each plate and saucer, is the interlaced monogram of
Martha Washington—M. W.—enclosed in a beautiful green wreath composed of
the leaves of the laurel and olive. Beneath this is a ribbon upon which
is inscribed, in delicately-traced letters, ‘_Decus et tutam enabillo._’
From the wreath are rays of gold which give a brilliant appearance to
the pieces. There is also a delicately colored stripe around the edges
of the cups and saucers and plates.”
This description conveys an excellent idea of the set to a careless
observer, but is not wholly correct. The “delicately colored stripe” is
a blue and gold snake with his tail in his mouth—a significant emblem.
There are fifteen long and fifteen short links instead of thirteen,
Kentucky and Vermont having at that time been added to the thirteen
original States. And the motto upon the pink ribbon scroll to me appears
to be, “_Decus et tutamen ab illo._” Mr. Lossing also says: “At that
time the china like that presented by the French officers was only made
at the Sèvres manufactory, the art of decorating porcelain or china ware
with enamel colors and gold being then not generally known.” This, of
course, is an incorrect statement, since it was at the time of the
greatest splendor in the English factories. The decoration of china with
gold was forbidden for some time in France except in the Sèvres factory,
but this Martha Washington set is not Sèvres. It is apparently Chinese.
Mr. Lossing wrote me a long letter on this subject. In it he says that
the French officers would not have sent as a gift to Washington china
from any factory save Sèvres; but it seems now to be very doubtful
whether this set was the gift of the French officers. In the National
Museum at the Smithsonian Institution are pieces labelled, “Presented to
Martha Washington by LaFayette.” There is no authority for the
ascription to Lafayette of the gift of this china. The only reason given
at the National Museum for thus labelling it is a good one—that the
ticket was on the china when it was in the Patent Office in 1871, and so
it will still be kept on it until some good evidence is brought that
such a label is incorrect. The pieces exhibited at the Loan Collection
in 1889, by individual owners—Edmund Law Rogers being one—were marked as
the gift of Mr. Van Braam. Mrs. Beverly Kennon, of Washington, D. C., is
the niece of George Washington Parke Custis, and owns a cup and saucer
of this set. She tells me that the “Martha Washington china was
presented (so said my mother and uncle—both grandchildren of Mrs.
Washington—who certainly ought to have known) by General Washington’s
early friend, a Hollander named Van Braam. It was made in China and
painted in England.” Mr. Custis thought that Mr. Van Braam was a
merchant in China; the Dutch at that time had the closest business
connections with that country. Miss Lyon also says that Mr. Custis told
her that the set in question was the gift of Mr. Van Braam. In addition
to all this testimony in favor of Mr. Van Braam, may be given the clause
from Martha Washington’s will, referring to the “sett of china given me
by Mr. Van Braam.” Captain Van Braam was a friend of Washington’s youth
and taught the future President the art of fencing. The gay
fencing-master cut but a sorry figure at a later date, being more than
suspected of treason and unsoldierly behavior.
Though neither of these sets were of Sèvres porcelain, Washington is
said to have owned two sets of Sèvres. In the National Museum are twenty
pieces of a service called Sèvres that belonged to him, and which he
used both while he was President and at Mount Vernon. At the Governor
Lyon sale a white Sèvres plate, catalogued as having belonged to
Washington, brought twelve dollars. Miss Lyon still owns a custard-cup
of the set. It has a pretty gold “dontil” rim and a gilt cherry as a
knob on the cover. It bears the Sèvres mark.
Another white and gold breakfast service, marked “Nast”—a well-known
French china-maker—also belonged to Washington. Miss Mary E. M. Powel,
of Newport, has a coffee-cup and saucer of the set. It was presented to
Colonel John Hare Powel, of Powelton, by Mrs. Custis, in 1812. The
butter-dish of this service is illustrated in “Mount Vernon and its
Associations.”
Another white and gold set of Canton china still has existing pieces to
show its character. This was probably a dessert-service. A berry-dish
and two dessert-plates were sold in Philadelphia, in 1890, for H. L. D.
Lewis (one of the Washington heirs), for fifty dollars. They were
purchased by the Washington Association of New Jersey (and can be seen
at their building in Morristown), with a cup of white porcelain with
maroon ribbon and wreath decoration, which also came from Mount Vernon.
Still other pieces of Washington china were sold in Philadelphia in
1891, among them portions of a set of Crown Derby with tiny sprigs and
flowered border. Pieces of this set were owned by the late William Henry
Harrison, Esq., of New York.
A very interesting plate is in the possession of Doctor Allan McLane
Hamilton, of New York. It was given as a keepsake to Mrs. Alexander
Hamilton by Mrs. George Washington. It descended from Mrs. Hamilton to
Philip Hamilton, the father of the present owner. It is of French
porcelain, twelve and a half inches in diameter, with slightly crenated
edges. On the left rim it is decorated with a festoon of oak leaves with
gold acorns; on the right with a border of laurel or myrtle. Above is a
lyre with a garland—both in gold. In the centre of the plate is an
eagle, perched upon a bundle of thunderbolts, while on his head are the
thirteen stars, all in gold; beneath, in script, are the letters G. & M.
W., surrounded by a wreath of roses and forget-me-nots. This plate is
unique, the remainder of the service being either lost or destroyed.
In the diary of Baron Von Closen, under the date of July 19, 1792, this
entry is found: “On my arrival Mrs. Washington requested me to invite
Count de Custine—who was then at Colchester—with all the officers of his
regiment, to dinner for the next day. The Count accepted the invitation
with ten officers of the regiment, and sent Mr. Bellegarde before him
with a very valuable present, a set of china coming from his own
manufactory at Niederweiler, near Pfalzburg, in Lorraine. It was
ornamented with a coat of arms and initials of General Washington,
surmounted by a laurel wreath, and was received by Mrs. Washington with
most hearty thanks.” I can well believe the latter statement, for this
Niederweiler china was by far the most beautiful in quality, decoration,
and shape that Washington ever possessed. The pieces were all slightly
different, the only universal decoration being a beautiful cipher of
Washington’s initials surrounded by a golden brown cloud background, and
surmounted by a tiny rose-wreath. The other decorations were of festoons
or interlaced wreaths. A saucer of this set, owned by J. Chester Lyman,
Esq., is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was given to Timothy
Dwight, Mr. Lyman’s ancestor, by Mrs. Custis. The design on this piece
consists of festoons of very delicate leaves in various shades of gold.
Another piece has wreaths of tiny roses around the edge. A sugar-box and
bowl, owned by Mrs. Beverley Kennon, of Washington, bear still different
designs. A covered jug of the set is here shown. The mark on this china
was the interlaced Cs, the stamp used by Count Custine, and it also is
numbered “No. 29.” Martha Washington divided this set among her three
granddaughters during her lifetime, which is the reason it is not
mentioned in her will.
[Illustration: Washington’s Niederweiler China.]
At Mount Vernon are two beautiful dishes which were presented to the
Association by Mr. Corcoran, and are said to have been George
Washington’s. One is a salad or berry-dish, seven and a half inches
square and an inch and a half deep; the edges are irregularly and
gracefully scalloped. There is a narrow rim of gold around the edge;
within, a wide band of blue broken by a chain of circular rings in gold,
each enclosing a gold dot; within this a narrow band of gold; and a
delicate gold beading forms the inside edge of the border. Little
bunches and sprigs of flowers are scattered over the centre, having gold
stems and leaves and blue blossoms. The plate has the same decoration.
Both have the small blue S of the Salopian or Caughley works on the
base. Mrs. Russel, of Cambridge, Mass., has a plate of this set, which
was given to her by Mr. Corcoran. These three pieces are evidently part
of a dessert-service—but where are the other pieces?
The “blue and white china in common use,” referred to in Martha
Washington’s will, was of a kind familiar to us all, “old blue Canton.”
Several pieces of it are now in the National Museum. Miss Lyon has two
dishes of rather better quality that came from Mount Vernon, Nankin
china apparently. Others have recently been sold at auction in
Philadelphia in 1891. Washington used this cheerful, substantial Canton
china “for common use” on his every-day table, just as did every other
good and wealthy American citizen of his day and time. Besides the
pieces of blue and white Canton china which he ordered of Colonel
Tilghman in 1785, Washington also wrote to General Robert Ridgway, on
September 12, 1783, a long and carefully expressed letter ordering wine
and beer glasses, and decanters and china. “If a neat and complete set
of Blue & white Table China could be had upon easy terms, be pleased to
inform me of it, and the price—not less than six or eight doz., however,
and proportionable number of deep and other Plates, Butter-Boats, Dishes
& Tureens will suffice. These things sometimes come in complete Setts
ready packed; should this be the case and the number of Pieces greater
than what is here mentioned, I should have no objection to a case on
that acc’t.”
Washington had very decided opinions and tastes about table furnishings,
as he had about dress. When wine was served to him and his visitors in
some very ugly cups at Princeton, and he was told that the cups were
made by a man who had since turned Quaker, he replied, with his
cumbersome and rare humor, that it was a pity the man had not turned
Quaker before he made the cups.
The china of Mary Washington did not go to her illustrious son. By her
will, made in 1788, she left to her grandson, Fielding Lewis, “half my
crockery ware, half my pewter, and my blue and white tea china,” and to
her granddaughter, Betty Carter, the other half of the crockery and
pewter, and “my red and white china.” Perhaps she fancied the General
had enough china, as he apparently did.
Washington progressed in mantel decoration somewhat beyond the plaster
“Lyons” and busts that decorated the home of his early married life. The
mantel vases described by Mr. Lossing, and shown in an illustration in
his book, were sold in Philadelphia, in February, 1891, for four hundred
and fifty dollars each. They stood about eighteen inches high, were
decorated with butterflies and flowers on a dark blue ground, and had
covers surmounted by the Dog Fo. Other vases which once graced the
chimney-pieces of Mount Vernon are still owned by members of the Custis
family. The profuse mantel decoration of to-day was, however, undreamt
of by him.
There are many other pieces of table china now in existence, and proudly
shown, that are said to have belonged to Washington. Doubtless their
owners consider that they have sufficient proof of the authenticity of
their relics, but as I know not the value of their proofs I will not
mention their china. I think, with the great number of punch-bowls that
once belonged to Washington, and that are mentioned in another chapter,
with the vast assortment of rich glass-ware that once was owned by
Washington, and that is now in the National Museum, in other public and
in many private collections, that the amount of china already named will
quite swell up a value far beyond the item in the sworn inventory of the
executors of George Washington’s will—“Glass & China in the China
Closet, & that up-stairs, & that in the cellar, $800.” What would be a
relic-lover’s estimate of the value of that glass and china to-day?
XII.
PRESIDENTIAL CHINA
The sets of china used by other Presidents than Washington, while their
various owners were living in the Executive Mansion, deserve to be
mentioned and described on account of historic interest, though not
always for their value as ceramics, and because specimens of them are
within the possibility of possession by a china collector. I think the
true china-lover will, however, care little to own any piece of
porcelain simply because it is said to have belonged to or was eaten
from by some great man—if that be its only virtue; and I am sure will
care little for much of the china that has graced the table at the White
House.
Jefferson was, without doubt, as profusely hospitable a President as
ever dwelt in the Executive Mansion of the United States. For this
lavish hospitality he may have had a double reason—not only to gratify
his well-known liberal disposition and his love of good company as well,
but to prove his shrewd suspicion, or rather his firm conviction, that a
well-cooked dinner was often a potent factor in accomplishing his
desired end when his smooth and persuasive argument or his apparent
candor would have failed. A good illustration of his crafty, worldly
wisdom is shown in the result of the historically renowned dinner given
by him, when Secretary of State, in 1789, at Philadelphia, to President
Washington and the prominent leaders of both parties of the House and
Senate. A fierce dispute between the Northern and Southern members of
Congress had risen over the location of the national capital. The
Southerners insisted that the banks of either the Delaware or Potomac
should be chosen as a site; the Northerners were equally determined upon
the borders of the Susquehanna. An amicable and peaceful settlement
followed this famous dinner, and shrewd Jefferson had his own way—the
seat of government was placed at Washington, on the Potomac. This lavish
hospitality, both in the Executive Mansion and in private life,
doubtless had much to do with Jefferson’s subsequent financial
embarrassments. Very few of the pieces of table-ware used and owned by
Jefferson, either in public or private life, are now to be found. His
married life was short, and his housekeeping, both when Secretary of
State and President, was entirely in the hands of servants, a condition
never favorable to the preservation of china. The dispersion of his
household effects caused the disappearance from sight and knowledge of
what few pieces remained. Though his silver is carefully preserved by
his descendants, they own no china.
An octagonal plate of Rockingham ware, used by Jefferson when President,
is now in Washington. It bears the stamp “BRAMELD.” It is of the dark
blue shade frequently used in the Chinese designs on that ware, a blue
so rich and deep that it gives a character and tone rarely found on
pottery, and makes the plate as glorious in tint as a block of choicest
lapis lazuli. The glaze is “crazed” on the entire surface of this
particular plate, both glaze and color being splintered in places from
the brownish pottery body. The plate has evidently been frequently and
severely heated in an oven. I have seen other pieces of the same shape,
bearing the same design, which had not, however, the honorable
distinction of having been owned by Jefferson.
An exceedingly beautiful plate was sold at auction in New York, about
fifteen years ago, that was catalogued as having been the property of
Jefferson and used on his dinner-table. It was apparently of Chinese
manufacture of the type known as Lowestoft. The rim and inner border
were diapered in dark blue, relieved by dainty lines of gold. In the
centre was the letter “J,” in gold, enclosed in a shield outlined in
blue enamel adorned with thirteen stars. Above the shield was a blue and
gold helmet with closed visor. This plate brought $40, being of ceramic
value as well as of historic interest. There was sold at the same time,
for $2.50, a custard-cup of French porcelain painted with detached
bachelor’s buttons, which was also said to have been Jefferson’s.
Of the china used by either President Adams I have no definite
knowledge, though I have seen several pieces of Oriental china that bore
the reputation of having been used by these Presidents during their
terms of office.
The china used by Madison was a set of finely painted Lowestoft.
Portions of it are owned by descendants in Virginia. He also owned a set
of fine French china with his initials.
The next White House china-service of which I have seen authentic pieces
is the one known as the Monroe set—Madison’s official china having been
destroyed at the burning of the Executive Mansion by the British in
1814. This Monroe set is of French china of good quality. It has around
the edge a half-inch band of pale coffee color or brownish buff, edged
with a burnished gilt line on either side. It has a small and pretty
coffee-cup with extraordinarily flat saucer.
The Andrew Jackson set was of heavy and rather coarse bluish porcelain,
apparently of Chinese manufacture, with bands of ugly dull blue and
coarsely applied gold, and a conventional and clumsy shield in the
centre. It was not very tasteful nor beautiful, any more than was its
Presidential owner, and very fitly furnished forth his dining-table.
In Franklin Pierce’s time what is now known as “the red-edged set” was
bought, the border being of dark red and gilt, with an inner circle of
gilt. It was of French china of fair quality. The cups of this set were
very large, while the saucers were exceedingly diminutive; though people
of fashion, even at that date, had not wholly given up drinking tea from
their saucers. A lady at whose home Judge Story and Daniel Webster were
frequent visitors, tells me that those two representative men of their
day always drank their cooled tea from their saucers.
The Buchanan set was of very commonplace ware, with a stiff, meagre, and
ill-painted spray of flowers in the centre of each plate and on the side
of each dish. Ugly as they are, the plates are now valued at forty
dollars each. The saucers of this set were disproportionately large,
holding much more than the cups. A few pieces of this Buchanan set still
remain in Washington, though none are preserved at the White House.
[Illustration: Lincoln China.]
A very full set of Presidential china was bought in Abraham Lincoln’s
time. It is of finest French porcelain, with a border of crimson purple
or plum color, with delicate lines and dots of gold, and the plates,
platters, and saucers have slightly scalloped edges. In the centre of
the plates and on the sides of the dishes and small pieces is a very
spirited version of the coat of arms of the United States, with the
motto “E Pluribus Unum” upon a clouded background of gold. A plate and
cup of this set, now in the possession of Miss Henrietta D. Lyon, of
Staten Island, is here shown. This design is very dignified and
appropriate, and, with the substitution of a blue border with gilt ears
of Indian corn, has been reproduced for the present mistress of the
White House. Plates of this Abraham Lincoln set sold at the Governor
Lyon sale for $4.25 each, and little covered custard- or egg-cups for
$1.50 each. I have recently had some of these plates offered to me for
$25 apiece. Portions of this set still remain and are used at the White
House.
[Illustration: Grant China.]
The General Grant set is well known, and is very handsome. The border is
of buff and gold, broken once by a small United States shield in high
colors. In the centre is a well-painted spray or bunch of flowers, many
being the wild flowers of the United States. The coffee-cups of this set
were ordered to use at the wedding of the President’s daughter, and were
known as the “Nellie Grant cups.” A plate said to have been ordered for
the White House in General Grant’s time is here shown.
Of the beautiful and costly set ordered by Mrs. Hayes too much is known,
and too many cheaper copies have been sold, and may be seen in any large
china-shop, to make it worth while to give any detailed description
here. It was made at Limoges by the Havilands, as was also the “Grant
set.” It makes a fine room decoration when the various pieces are
arranged in the beautiful buffet that President Arthur had made for it,
and is more satisfactory in that position than when in use on the table.
It may be asked how all these pieces of Presidential china come to be
found in private collections, and offered for sale, and so generally
distributed over the country. A very reprehensible custom existed until
recent years (and indeed may still be possible) of selling at auction at
the end of each Presidential term, or in the middle if thought
necessary, whatever household effects the house steward and house
occupants chose to consider of no further use. These Presidential sales
were, of course, eagerly attended by relic-hunters. At such a sale in
President Grant’s day a lot of “old truck,” as it was irreverently
called, valued at $500, brought $2,760. As there must be, of course,
much breakage of china in the pantry and dining-room of the White House,
and as it was considered for many years necessary to have full “sets” of
china table-ware, enough to serve an entire dinner, the odd plates, cups
and saucers, and dishes were ruthlessly “cleared out” whenever an
appropriation was made by the Government, or the President desired to
buy a new set. It seems a pity that a few pieces of each of these “state
sets” should not have been preserved in a cabinet at the White House to
show us the kind of china from which our early rulers ate their daily
meals and served their state dinners, as well as to show our varying and
halting progress in luxury, refinement, and taste.
XIII.
DESIGNS RELATING TO WASHINGTON