Lincoln Home NHS: Historic Furnishings Report (The Plan)

Lincoln Home

Historic Furnishings Report

THE PLAN

SECTION E: RECOMMENDED FURNISHINGS (continued)

KITCHEN: ROOM E

See p. 316, for Summary of Furnishings and Cost Estimates.

KITCHEN: ROOM E

Object:

E.1 — Cook Stove, Wood Burning

Date:

1850-1860

Brief Description:

The Iron Royal Oak cook stove (LIHO 559) has been described on p. 109 of this study and is appropriate for the kitchen.

Location:

The stove should be installed against the chimney in the west wall of the kitchen.

Documentation:

Iron stoves had been imported for use in Illinois since the 1830s and, in that same decade, iron foundries in the state were making cast-iron stoves for both cooking and heating. By mid-century, there were many producers of cast-iron products in Illinois. [19] In 1850, Lincoln hired a local contractor to close fireplaces and plaster them because he preferred wood- burning stoves. [20]

Source:

LIHO 559.

Object:

E.2 — Stove Implements: Poker, Lid Lifter, Ash Rake

Date:

1850-1860

Brief Description:

Iron.

Location:

By stove.

Documentation:

Period practice.

Source:

To be acquired (antique).

Object:

E.3 — Heat Shield

Date:

1850-1860

Brief Description:

Square of zinc or tin.

Location:

To be placed under the cook stove.

Documentation:

Cook stoves were used continually during the day for cooking and heating and they became very hot. The floor under the stove was protected with a heat shield.

Source:

An appropriate shield is in the LIHO Collection, though it does not have a catalogue number.

Object:

E.4 — Work Table

Date:

1840-1850

Brief Description:

The work table should be of appropriate size to fit under the stairway (in front of the window for light), allowing room for the dry sink to be placed against the north wall. The table should have unfinished scrubbed top surface and either a plain tapered leg or a turned-style leg. Examples of early Illinois tables are shown on pp. 151, 175, and 235 of Betty Madden's recent book Arts Crafts and Architecture in Early Illinois (1974). [21]

Location:

The table should be placed against the east wall.

Documentation:

A worktable, for food preparation, was considered a necessity in the nineteenth-century kitchens. There is no known written reference to the table in Mary Lincoln's kitchen but, in Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book two tables were recommended. [22] Only one table, however, is suggested in this plan because Mary's kitchen is small. Examples of Illinois-made work-tables from the period survive and are shown in Madden, Arts....in Early Illinois.

Source:

LIHO 125.

Object:

E.5 — Chair

Date:

1840-1850

Brief Description:

A painted side chair with rush seat.

Location:

To be placed next to the work table.

Documentation:

Period practice. A place to sit for the servant eating a meal or while preparing food was a standard kitchen furnishing. See illustrations in Harold Peterson's Americans at Home (New York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1971).

Source:

LIHO 1062.

Object:

E.6 — Dry Sink

Date:

1840-1850

Brief Description:

The dry sink in nineteenth-century kitchens resembled a small cupboard. The recessed top was sometimes lined with metal and was large enough to hold a tub of water and dishes for washing. The doors below were usually paneled or vertical boards and they covered a storage area.

Location:

The dry sink should be placed against the north wall, next to the outside door. Water from the well would be brought through that door.

Documentation:

There is no known written reference to the sink in Mary Lincoln's kitchen; however, there is written reference to water being carried into the house from the backyard pump. [23] In addition, Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book does recommend sinks as a necessity for the kitchen [24] and examples of early Illinois-made dry sinks still exist. Appropriate illustrations can be found in Madden, Arts...in Early Illinois, p. 128.

Source:

LIHO 118.

Object:

E.7 — Floor Cloth

Date:

1855-1860

Brief Description:

Catherine Beecher in The American Woman's Home (1869), explains how to make an inexpensive oilcloth for the kitchen floor:

To procure a kitchen oilcloth as cheaply as possible, buy cheap tow cloth and fit it to the size and shape of the kitchen. Then have it stretched and nailed to the south side of the barn and, with a brush, cover it with a coat of thin rye paste. When this is dry, put on a coat of yellow paint and let it dry for a fortnight. Then put on a second coat...let it dry two months and it will last for many years. [25]

Easy-to-clean oilcloth was used on tables, shelves, and floors to catch spills.

Location:

It is suggested that a square of oilcloth cover the entire floor area up to the visitor pathway.

Documentation:

Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book recommended that there was "no better covering for a kitchen floor than a coarse, stout oilcloth in figured or plain color of blue, brown, olive, or yellow." [26] In Springfield newspapers, local nineteenth-century craftsmen advertised painted oilcloth [27] and records show that the Lincolns did purchase oilcloth.

Source:

To be acquired (reproduction).

Object:

E.8 — Cupboard

Date:

1840-1850

Brief Description:

In nineteenth-century kitchens cupboards were used for storage of utensils, such as pots, dishes, etc. They were usually large pieces of furniture, about three and one-half or four-feet wide, and about seven-feet high. There were shelves above and storage space under the work surface. Paneled doors usually covered both the storage space and the shelves.

Location:

It is suggested that the cupboard be placed in the northwest corner of the kitchen (near the stove) against either wall.

Documentation:

Written references to a cupboard in Mary's kitchen are discussed on pp. 110-112 of this study. Examples of Illinois-made nineteenth-century cupboards are shown in Madden, Artsin Early Illinois pp. 110, 128, 151, and 175.

Source:

LIHO 117.

Object:

E.9 — Rocking Chair

Date:

1840-1850

Brief Description:

Ladder-back rocking chair with splint-weave seat.

Location:

The rocking chair should be placed by the stove.

Documentation:

See p. 80 for information about the ladder-back rocking chair--it has a tradition of belonging to Mary Lincoln but it is not well documented. It is similar to nineteenth-century Illinois-made chairs shown in Madden, Arts...in Early Illinois, pp. 82, 98, 110, 150, 174, and 235. Making butter in the nineteenth-century manner was a long and slow process. Family members joined in and took turns sitting beside the butter churn and working at this chore. A comfortable chair would be considered a necessity.

Source:

LIHO 126.

Object:

E.10 — Butter Churn

Date:

1840-1850

Brief Description:

Stoneware butter churn, made in Illinois.

Location:

To be placed near the south door next to the rocking chair.

Documentation:

Period practice. Stoneware articles for the kitchen are recommended in Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book. [28] Nineteenth-century Illinois potters produced butter churns and other utilitarian articles in stoneware for everyday use. Madden, in Arts...in Early Illinois shows examples of Illinois butter churns on pp. 181-185.

Source:

To be acquired (antique); LIHO 480 can be used until an earlier one can be acquired.

Object:

E.11 — Open Shelves

Date:

1850-1860

Brief Description:

Small open shelves made of wood with closedin sides and back, to be hung on the wall. It is suggested that the shelves be lined with oilcloth.

Location:

Two sets of hanging shelves are suggested--one set for the northeast corner of the room (near the dry sink and table) and one set for the wall on the south side of the chimney.

Documentation:

Nineteenth-century kitchens did not have built-in storage areas. In those days, open wooden shelves were hung on the wall to hold kitchen items and cooking supplies. Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book recommends lining shelves with oilcloth; and records show that the Lincolns did purchase oilcloth and bordering. [29]

Source:

LIHO 548 and 549 (reproductions).

Object:

E.12 — Coffee Grinder

Date:

1850-1860

Brief Description:

A grinder with crank handle should be hung in a convenient place.

Location:

It is suggested that the grinder be placed near the dry sink and the work table where it would have been available for food preparation.

Documentation:

Nineteenth-century homemakers seldom had a chance to buy products ready for the table. The general store usually sold coffee beans, salt, sugar, herbs, and spices that had to be ground before they could be used. There is no known written reference to the grinder but there is a record of foodstuffs being purchased by the Lincolns that would require use of this article. (See pp. 112-119 for the list.) Also, Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book p. 235, recommends this item for the kitchen.

Source:

LIHO 578.

Object:

E.13 — Knife Cleaning Box

Date:

1850-1860

Brief Description:

A hanging, rectangular wood knife cleaner and sharpener.

Location:

To be placed near the dry sink and work table where it would be near at hand for food preparation.

Documentation:

Period practice. Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book, p. 235 recommends this item for the kitchen.

Source:

LIHO 495.

Object:

E.14 — Spice Cabinet

Date:

1850-1860

Brief Description:

Small, hanging, wooden cabinet with eight drawers to hold spices.

Location:

It is suggested that the spice cabinet be hung in the northwest corner of the kitchen near the cupboard and cook stove where it would have been readily available for preparing meals.

Documentation:

Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book, p. 235 listed a spice cabinet and records show that the Lincolns did purchase spices and herbs which would need to be stored in a spice cabinet. (See pp. 112-119 for the list of foodstuffs.)

Source:

LIHO 507.

Object:

E.15 — Salt Box

Date:

1850-1860

Brief Description:

A small, hanging, wooden salt container with a lid and curved front.

Location:

To be hung in the northwest corner of the kitchen near the cupboard and cook stove where it would have been readily available for preparing meals.

Documentation:

Period practice. Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book listed a salt box as a necessity for the kitchen [30] and records show that the Lincolns did make salt purchases. (See pp. 112-119 for the list of foodstuffs.)

Source:

LIHO 504.

Object:

E.16 — Broom

Date:

1860

Brief Description:

Broom with hickory handle.

Location:

It is suggested that a broom be leaned against the wall beside the cupboard in the northwest corner of the kitchen.

Documentation:

Brooms are listed among those items purchased by the Lincolns at nearby Springfield stores (see p. 117). Brooms are also listed among the kitchen necessities recommended in Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book, p. 238.

Source:

LIHO 506.

Object:

E.17 — Two Lamps

Date:

1840-1860

Brief Description:

Two small whale oil or lard lamps, blown glass or pewter.

Location:

To be placed on the open shelves.

Documentation:

Mrs. Lincoln purchased two lamps from Irwin and Co. for $1.50 on April 16, 1844 (see p. 63). No lamps appear in the Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper March 9, 1861 drawings of the parlors or sitting room. Lamps were often stored in the kitchen, where they were taken to be cleaned. They were placed in the rooms only when in use at night. See Abbott Lowell Cummings, ed. Rural Household Inventories (Boston: The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities), p. xxx; Martha Careful, Household Hints to Young Housewives (London: Dean and Son, 1852), p. 13; Margaret B. Schiffer, Chester County Pennsylvania Inventories 1684-1850 (Exton, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1974), pp. 170-171.

Source:

To be acquired (antique).

Object:

E.18 — Two Candleholders

Date:

1840-1860

Brief Description:

Iron or tin.

Location:

To be placed on the open shelves.

Documentation:

Many candle purchases are listed among those items bought by the Lincolns at nearby Springfield stores (see pp. 112-119).

Source:

To be acquired (antique).

Object:

E.19-20 — One Lantern on Wall Bracket

Date:

1840-1860

Brief Description:

Glass and tin with carrying handle.

Location:

On a wall bracket near the north door for easy access when going outside.

Documentation:

A glass lantern is listed among the items purchased by the Lincolns at nearby Springfield stores (see pp. 112-119). Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book, p. 235 also lists a lantern as a kitchen necessity.

Source:

LIHO 502; the wall bracket to be acquired (antique or reproduction).

Object:

E.21 — Candlebox

Date:

1840-1860

Brief Description:

Tin, either plain or with punched decoration.

Location:

To be attached to the wall near the dry sink or any convenient space that is away from the heat of the stove.

Documentation:

Many candle purchases are listed among those items bought by the Lincolns at nearby Springfield stores (see pp. 112-119). It was period practice to store candles in tin boxes hung on the wall to keep them away from vermin.

Source:

To be acquired (antique).

Object:

E.22 — Utensils

Date:

1840-1850

Brief Description:

Nineteenth-century kitchen utensils included earthenware, ironware, tinware, woodenware, and basketry.

Location:

Utensils should be chosen from those articles documented below and placed about the kitchen as recommended.

Documentation:

Records show that the Lincolns made payments to tinware and other local merchants but no extensive list of articles is known (see pp. 112-119). In the nineteenth century, tinware, ironware, earthenware, woodenware, and basket items were all used in the kitchen. The following list is from Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book, pp. 233-240, and is included to document what utensils were recommended for nineteenth-century kitchens. However, the average homemaker had a minimum of small kitchen items and Mary Lincoln, a frugal household manager and economical in the kitchen, probably did not have an abundance of those items either:

Ironware

Iron Pot (LIHO 477)

Griddles (2) (LIHO 524)

Iron Shovels (LIHO 573, 574)

Iron Strainer (LIHO 567)

Iron Turner (LIHO 564, 572)

Iron Tongs (LIHO 566)

Sadiron (LIHO 553, 554, 555)

Waffle Iron -----

Bake Pans -----

Trivets -----

Skillets (LIHO 561)

Ladles -----

Skewers -----

Toasting Iron (LIHO 568)

Coffee Roaster -----

Tea Kettle (LIHO 552)

Coffee Mill (LIHO 578)

Kitchen Cleaver -----

Knives & Forks (LIHO 439, 450-460)

Chopper (LIHO 570, 575)

Spoons -----

Scales (LIHO 436)

Iron Pot (LIHO 551)

Tinware

Pie Dishes ----

Cake Pans ----

Dozen Muffin Rings ----

Oval Cans ----

Lard Vessel ----

Butter Kettle ----

Sauce Pans ----

Roasting Pan ----

Colander ----

Fish Kettle ----

Egg Boiler ----

Apple Roaster ----

Pepper Box ----

Graters ----

Spice Boxes (LIHO 536, 540)

Funnels ----

Scoops ----

Cups ----

Buckets ----

Coffeepot ----

Dippers ----

Pie Crimper (LIHO 537)

Milk Bucket (LIHO 517)

Apple Corer (LIHO 538)

Pitcher (LIHO 500)

Foot Warmer (LIHO 479)

Tray (LIHO 541)

Mold (LIHO 543)

Copper

Double Boiler (LIHO 558)

Wash Boiler (LIHO 584)

Brass Pot (LIHO 483)

Funnel (LIHO 569, 571)

Woodenware

Buckets ------

Bread Board (LIHO 440)

Sieves ------

Masher ------

Sleeve Board (LIHO 514)

Egg Beater ------

Paste Board ------

Spoons (LIHO 435, 437, 445, 563)

Sugar Boxes (LIHO 481)

Salt Boxes (LIHO 504)

Bread Box (LIHO 583)

Molds (LIHO 442)

Cutlery Box (LIHO 449, 495)

Towel Rack (LIHO 120)

Box (LIHO 519, 520)

Bowls (LIHO 509, 510-513)

Mortar and Pestles (LIHO 447, 448, 535)

Flyswitch (LIHO 505)

Rolling Pin (LIHO 443, 464,492)

Coffee Stick -----

Roller Towel Bar (LIHO 582)

Tinder Box ----

Sand Box ----

Wooden Washboard ----

Wooden Clothes Wringer (LIHO 501)

Wood Rug Beater (LIHO 503)

Basketware

Market Basket ----

Egg Baskets (LIHO 372)

Bottle Basket ----

Clothes Basket ----

Storage Baskets ----

Wisk Broom (LIHO 515)

Demijohns for Vinegar and Molasses ----

Earthenware

Stoneware (LIHO 426, 428, 430, 444, 550)

White Crockery (LIHO 518, 577, 579, 580)

Brown Earthen Pans (LIHO 466, 467, 469, 498, 499, 516, 581)

Glassware

Bottles (LIHO 523, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534)

Canning Jars (LIHO 410, 413, 421, etc.

Source:

It is suggested that a few representative articles be selected from each category, be acquired (antique), and placed in the cupboard, on the open shelves, stove and work table. A wooden tub or bucket could be placed in the dry sink with a coarse towel hanging nearby as suggested in Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book, p. 230.

Object:

E.23 — Curtains

Date:

1840-1860

Brief Description:

Two pair, calico or check cloth, simple wood rods, on brackets.

Location:

Windows in kitchen and storeroom.

Documentation:

See Lincoln family fabric purchases in Harry E. Pratt, ed., "The Lincolns Go Shopping," Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society Volume XLVIII, pp. 66-67.

Source:

To be acquired (reproduction).

KITCHEN: ROOM E

PORCH: ROOM E

PORCH: ROOM E
Object:	E.24 — Wood Box
Date:	1840-1850
Brief Description:	Wooden chest-type box with a hinged lid.
Location:	On east porch, near the kitchen door.
Documentation:	Historians have referred to Lincoln chopping wood and carrying it in to replenish the wood box. [31] Wood boxes were usually in the kitchen where the wood was handy to the stove but Mary Lincoln's kitchen is small and the wood box was likely to have been outside on the porch. An 1865 stereoscope view of the east elevation of the Lincoln home shows what appears to be a wood box on the back porch. [32]
Source:	LIHO reproduction.
PORCH: ROOM E

STOREROOM: ROOM E

STOREROOM: ROOM E
Object:	E.25 — Icebox
Date:	1840-1850
Brief Description:	Iceboxes were made by eastern carpenters using local woods. They were plain, square insulated boxes with a tin lining to help retain the cool air and to make them watertight. There was a compartment in the top for the block of ice and space below for storing foodstuffs.
Location:	In the kitchen today, refrigerators are near-at-hand but Mary Lincoln's icebox probably was not because her kitchen would have been too warm. Cooking and baking in Mary's kitchen was a daylong process, during which the stove gave off a tremendous amount of heat. If the icebox were in the kitchen, the ice would melt quickly and stored food would spoil. It is suggested that Mary Lincoln kept her icebox in the cool storeroom.
Documentation:	Iceboxes were being used early in the nineteenth century. One of the first insulated iceboxes was patented in 1803 and, by 1840, eastern manufacturers were marketing them from the seaboard to Illinois. [33] In addition, Carl Sandburg, in his Lincoln biography, discusses transactions that Mary Lincoln had with the iceman. [34]
Source:	To be acquired (antique).

Object:	E.26 — Pie Safe
Date:	1840-1850
Brief Description:	The pie safe was a cupboard for storing baked goods. It was about five-and-one-half feet tall and about three feet wide, standing on short legs. The sides and doors were paneled tin, punched in decorative designs and allowing circulation of air.
Location:	It is suggested that the pie safe be in the storeroom where baked goods would cool and stay fresh.
Documentation:	See pp. 110-112 for references to a cupboard for storing baked goods. Miss Leslie's Lady's Home Book also recommends a safe for the kitchen. Madden, Arts...in Early Illinois p. 135, shows an example of one that was made in Illinois in 1840-1850.
Source:	To be acquired (antique).

Note: This plan does not recommend a flour bin (for storage of large amounts of flour) because there is no documentation to suggest that the Lincolns used one. Additionally, the Royal Oak stove in Mary's kitchen has a small oven and it would not accommodate large quantities of baked items. It is suggested that the Lincolns probably purchased baked goods from a local Springfield baker.

Object:	E.27 — Laundry Supplies
Date:	1840-1850
Brief Description:	Washing laundry in the nineteenth century required a number of articles that are documented below.
Location:	Storeroom.
Documentation:	In Miss Leslie's Lady's House Book, p. 8, it is recommended that washing be done once a week. The equipment included a tub to catch rainwater for laundry, washboard, clothes baskets, starch pans, lines, kettles, boiler to heat water, clotheshorse, lye, tin ladle, hickory stick to stir clothes, mangle, and a linen or ticking laundry bag which should be hung up--if left on the floor it could be injured by mice or cockroaches. It is suggested that a few representative articles from the above list be placed in the storeroom.
Source:	To be acquired (antique).
STOREROOM: ROOM E

<<< Previous

<<< Contents >>>

Next >>>

liho/hfr/sectione-e.htm
Last Updated: 08-Feb-2004