Presidential State Plate from the First White House Thanksgiving Dinner
United States, 1860s
Porcelain with gilt decoration, framed with photographic prints
President Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863, issuing his proclamation during the turmoil of the Civil War but encouraged by recent Union victories. His words invited Americans everywhere—at home, at sea, and abroad—to devote the last Thursday of November to gratitude and praise, even in the midst of a conflict of “unequalled magnitude and severity.”
Two years earlier, in 1861, Mary Todd Lincoln had ordered a new White House State Dinner Service after finding the existing set depleted. Despite the looming war, Congress funded needed furnishings, and Mrs. Lincoln selected a fashionable “Solferino” and gold pattern from E.V. Haughwout & Co., updating its colors to the bright purplish-red shade she favored. Though criticized for its expense during wartime, the Lincolns used this service throughout the first term until it became worn and was replaced in late 1864 with a simpler, more economical set. As we remember the history of Thanksgiving, Lincoln’s proclamation calls us to humility, compassion, and a shared hope for national healing.
