![[LINCOLN]. A cut glass wineglass from the White House State Dinner Service, made for the President and Mrs. Mary Lincoln by Christian Dorflinger's Greenpoint Glass Works, Brooklyn, New York, 1861.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2003/NYR/2003_NYR_01318_0295_000(070600).jpg?w=1)
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[LINCOLN]. A cut glass wineglass from the White House State Dinner Service, made for the President and Mrs. Mary Lincoln by Christian Dorflinger's Greenpoint Glass Works, Brooklyn, New York, 1861.
A RARE WINE-GLASS FROM THE LINCOLN STATE DINNER SERVICE
A wineglass of ruby crystal glass, 4¼ in. in height. Fine diamond engraved decoration: rim with a border of small circles, on one side of the bowl the seal of the United States (a cartouche with an American eagle, wings outspread, clutching olive branch and arrows, with banner bearing motto "E Pluribus Unum"), flanked by elegant swags of leaf and foliage; tapering faceted stem, the clear base engraved with radiating geometric figures. In fine condition, showing brilliant luster.
As one authority on the Presidential glassware notes, the set ordered by Mary Lincoln for the White House in the Spring of 1861 "represented the latest in fashion," but was still a departure from previous Presidential glassware in that it was much thinner and lighter than the heavy crystal used since Jackson's administration. At the same time she ordered the "solferino" China set (see previous lot), Mrs. Lincoln placed an order with retal agent A.P. Zimaudy "For one sett of Glass Ware rich cut & eng'd with U.S. Coat of Arms, $1500." Zimaudy in turn, placed the order with Christian Dorflinger, who had learned the glass trade in France, emigrated to the U.S. in the 1840s, and established the Greenpoint Glass Works in Brooklyn in 1860, devoted to the manufacture of fine table glass. The glassware, intended for use at dinners for three to four dozen, probably included "four dozen each of of at least six shapes of individual pieces, and some service pieces" like a celery dish and compote dish (still in the White House collection). The glassware, with its clear "E pluribus unum" motto must have suffered considerable breakage during the turbulent Civil War years, even though state dinners were ultimately abolished as a nod to Presidential economy. Today, examples of the Lincoln wineglass are very rare. J.S. Spillman, White House Glassware, 1989, pp.67-77.
Provenance: Gary M. Hendershott, April 1997.
A RARE WINE-GLASS FROM THE LINCOLN STATE DINNER SERVICE
A wineglass of ruby crystal glass, 4¼ in. in height. Fine diamond engraved decoration: rim with a border of small circles, on one side of the bowl the seal of the United States (a cartouche with an American eagle, wings outspread, clutching olive branch and arrows, with banner bearing motto "E Pluribus Unum"), flanked by elegant swags of leaf and foliage; tapering faceted stem, the clear base engraved with radiating geometric figures. In fine condition, showing brilliant luster.
As one authority on the Presidential glassware notes, the set ordered by Mary Lincoln for the White House in the Spring of 1861 "represented the latest in fashion," but was still a departure from previous Presidential glassware in that it was much thinner and lighter than the heavy crystal used since Jackson's administration. At the same time she ordered the "solferino" China set (see previous lot), Mrs. Lincoln placed an order with retal agent A.P. Zimaudy "For one sett of Glass Ware rich cut & eng'd with U.S. Coat of Arms, $1500." Zimaudy in turn, placed the order with Christian Dorflinger, who had learned the glass trade in France, emigrated to the U.S. in the 1840s, and established the Greenpoint Glass Works in Brooklyn in 1860, devoted to the manufacture of fine table glass. The glassware, intended for use at dinners for three to four dozen, probably included "four dozen each of of at least six shapes of individual pieces, and some service pieces" like a celery dish and compote dish (still in the White House collection). The glassware, with its clear "E pluribus unum" motto must have suffered considerable breakage during the turbulent Civil War years, even though state dinners were ultimately abolished as a nod to Presidential economy. Today, examples of the Lincoln wineglass are very rare. J.S. Spillman, White House Glassware, 1989, pp.67-77.
Provenance: Gary M. Hendershott, April 1997.