Lincoln Home Historic Furnishings Report

SECTION E: RECOMMENDED FURNISHINGS (continued)

MAID'S ROOM: INTRODUCTION

The servant's room should be sparsely furnished with objects of a slightly older style than the other bedroom furnishings because the older, less fashionable furniture in the house would have been the most appropriate for hired help. A few personal items, such as a pin cushion and cologne bottle, should indicate that the Lincolns' servant was a woman. (See pp. 14-17 for a discussion of the Lincolns' servants.) In an affidavit (Appendix IV) by Robert Kuecher listing his family's Lincoln artifacts, he recalled that his father purchased several items which had come from the maid's room at the Lincoln home. Kuecher reportedly bought a washstand, white toilet set, quilt, and a picture of a church and yard. Although Kuecher's statements cannot be documented (see pp. 138-141 for discussion of Kuecher artifacts), his memory of the contents of the maid's room does correspond to what household guidebooks recommended for the servant's room. Eliza Leslie in her Lady's House Book a copy of which was owned by Mrs. Lincoln, advised the housekeeper to furnish the servant's room with a painted low post bedstead, a piece of carpet in winter, a washing table, a looking glass, several chairs, and a closet or pegs for clothes. [39]