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Figure 10.––Silver service presented to Mrs. Abraham Lincoln when she was First Lady. Gift of Mr. Lincoln Isham. In Division of Political History. (Acc. 216335.6-.13; Smithsonian photo 44851-B.)

TO MARY TODD LINCOLN

The Museum recently received a silver service (fig. 10) that belonged to Mary Todd Lincoln. The service consists of a large oval tray, a hot-water urn on a stand with a burner, coffeepot, teapot, hot-water pot, cream pitcher, sugar urn, and waste bowl. All the pieces have an overall repoussé floral and strapwork pattern with the monogram “MTL” on one side and an engraved crest on the other. The crest seems to be an adaptation of the Todd family crest. The pieces are marked with a lion, an anchor, and an old English “G,” which are the early marks of the Gorham Silver Company. It is assumed that this silver service was a presentation gift to Mrs. Lincoln during the time she was First Lady of the White House, as a letter dated July 19, 1876, from her to her son Robert Todd Lincoln calls his attention to a silver service in his possession that was a gift to her from “the Citizens of New York.”

FOR ENGINEERING

Figure 11.––Teakettle and stand given to Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs in 1853 by the citizens of Washington for his work on the Washington Aqueduct. Gift of Gen. M. C. Meigs. In Division of Political History. (Acc. 25386, cat. 5864; Smithsonian photo 57008.)

By far the most fanciful of all the mid-19th-century pieces is the silver teakettle and stand (fig. 11) given to General Montgomery C. Meigs by the citizens of Washington for his work on the Washington Aqueduct. The kettle, 18 inches high, is mounted on a base that is 8¹⁄₂ inches square and 3¹⁄₄ inches high. The base is made in the shape of the stone arches of the aqueduct, and the head of George Washington, in profile, is 93 depicted on the center front. There is a depression in the top of the base for holding a small alcohol lamp. Four rocks, one on each corner of the base, provide support for the kettle. The kettle’s feet, in the form of fish, rest on the rocks and are fastened to them with hinges held by a chain and silver pin. The pins can be released so that the kettle can be tilted for pouring without moving it from the base. By withdrawing all four pins, the kettle can be completely detached from the base. The body of the kettle is decorated with nautical designs––waves, fish, shells, etc.––and cattails and lily pads. Under the spout is an anchor entwined with a fish over the initial “M.” A belt ornamented with stars encloses the castellated towers of the Army Engineers symbol with the letters “U,” “S,” and “E” on one side of the kettle. On the other side is the inscription:

Presented to Captain Montgomery C. Meigs U.S. Engineers by the Corporation of Washington with a Resolution of Thanks approved 12th March 1853 for his Report on the Washington Aqueduct.

The handle of the kettle is in the form of a serpent’s tail, and the spout is the serpent’s open mouth. The lid is a nautilus shell on which stands an eagle with raised wings. On one side of the base is inscribed:

Presented 9th June 1854 by John W. Maury––Mayor, Joseph Borrows of B^d Ald., A. W. Miller of B^d Com. C. Committee of the Corporation.

The piece is marked “M. W. Galt & Bro.,” a firm established in Washington in 1802 that has been in continuous business since that time.

Montgomery Cunningham Meigs graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1836 and was soon assigned to the Engineer Corps. Thereafter, for a quarter of a century his outstanding talents were devoted to many important engineering projects. His favorite was the construction of the Washington Aqueduct, which carried a large part of Washington’s water supply from the Great Falls of the Potomac to the city. This work, under his direction between 1852 and 1860, involved devising ingenious methods of controlling the flow and distribution of the water and also the design of a monumental bridge across the Cabin John Branch––a bridge that for 50 years was the longest masonry arch in the world. At the same time Meigs was supervising the building of wings and a new dome on the Capitol and an extension on the General Post Office Building.

During the Civil War, Meigs served as quartermaster general, and in 1864 he was brevetted major general. As quartermaster general he supervised plans for the War Department Building, 1866-1867; the National Museum Building, 1876; and an extension of the Washington Aqueduct, 1876.

After his retirement, in 1882, General Meigs became architect of the Pension Office Building. He served as a regent of the Smithsonian Institution, was a member of the American Philosophical Society, and one of the earliest members of the National Academy of Sciences.