[THE LINCOLN WHITE HOUSE]. A group of 3 cut and engraved crystal drinking glasses manufactured for use in the Lincoln White House. Brooklyn, New York: Greenpoint Flint Glassworks, ca. 23 July 1861.

Two sherry glasses, height 4 1/2 in. (114 mm); one toddy cup with handle, height 4 in. (102 mm); each engraved with the shield of the United States.

"GLASSWARE MOST DESIRED BY LINCOLN COLLECTORS...PIECES OF THE LINCOLN SERVICE ARE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO OBTAIN" (Lincoln Lore, No. 1531)

Founded by glassmaker Christian Dorflinger in 1860, the Greenpoint Flint Glassworks factory was built in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The glass was made with a special sand that Dorflinger imported from Fontainebleau, France. He had it used as ballast in sailing ships as a means of avoiding import duties. The resulting glassware was exceptionally thin and delicate, and was held in such high regard that Dorflinger was one of the first manufacturers commissioned by Mary Todd Lincoln to produce new stemware for the White House.

These glasses are from a much larger set that were selected by Mrs. Lincoln and sold to her for $1,500 by dealer A.P. Zimandy of Washington. By the time his invoice came due she had already overspent the $20,000 allotted to the Lincolns by Congress to furnish the White House. This became yet another source of friction between the President and his wife, as well as the President and the Congress. Despite Lincoln's discomfort with the extravagant purchase, he approved the $1,500 bill on 23 July 1861. This style of glassware continued to be used in the White House until Grover Cleveland chose a newer Russian pattern during his first administration. See Lincoln Lore Number 1531, September, 1965; Dorflinger Glass Museum, Glass Exhibits.

Provenance:

Louise Taper, Beverly Hills, California

Exhibition:

The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham
Lincoln and the Promise of America, at the Huntington Library, October 1993-August 1994

Property from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Foundation