File:Fruit compote dish - Lincoln White House china service - 2012.jpg

English: A fruit compote bowl from the Lincoln White House china service of 1861. On display at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., in the United States.

Mary Todd Lincoln traveled to New York City in May 1861 to shop for furnishings for the White House. On May 15, she visited two firms: Lord & Taylor, and E.V. Haughwout & Co. Haughwout's showed her a "specimen plate" they had exhibited at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in New York in 1853. The company had produced the plate in the hopes that President Pierce would like it and buy a set of china based on its look. The "Pierce Plate" was a creamy white porcelain with picture of an American eagle in the Napoleonic style (slender wings outspread, slender neck and head, facing right, leaning left), gripping a shield emblazoned with the U.S. colors (white band at top rimmed in blue, with blue stars on the field, and narrow red and white stripes below). The shield tilted to the right, and the lower southeast corner lost in rosy clouds, which surrounded and were in back of the eagle. Drifting through the clouds left and right of the shield was a ribbon with the national motto ("E pluribus unum"). An olive branch extended to the left, and a sheaf of arrows to the right. A wide dark blue border, its outer rim dotted with tiny white stars, encircled the plate. The beyond that was a twisted gold rope ("in the Alhambra style"). The edges of the plate were scalloped.

Lincoln asked that the blue band be replaced with "solferino." Solferino was a moderate purplish-red color similar to magenta –- a highly popular color at the time. A dye that could create the solferino color had only been discovered in 1859, so asking for solferino color was asking for the trendiest color around. It was also close to purple, which was Mrs. Lincoln's favorite color.

Lincoln also ordered a similar if smaller set for the family’s personal use. The Great Seal of the United States was replaced with a Gothic "ML" in the center.

The china was produced by Haviland & Co. in Limoges, France. Haviland gilded the edges with the gold rope and painted the solferino band on the plate, then shipped it to New York City. A stencil was used to create an outline of the image, which was then painted in by hand. The final design was slightly different than the Pierce Plate. The eagle faced left, not right; the clouds only formed the lower arc of a circle, and obscured the southwest corner of the shield; the olive branch was more prominent, and the arrows less numerous; and a glowing yellow sun (not glowing clouds) backed the eagle. The stars around the outer edge of the solferino band were now just gilt dots.

Lincoln ordered 666 pieces of china. The dining service (which consisted of two large salad bowls, four pickle bowls, 18 meat platters of various sizes, four fish platters of various sizes, two butter dishes, six vegetable platters, 96 dinner plates, 48 soup bowls, four water pitchers, and two ice bowls) consisted of 190 pieces. The dessert service (which consisted of custard cups, fruit bowls, strawberry bowls, sugar bowls, fruit baskets [some oval, some round], dessert plates, coffee cups, and two large shell-shaped bowls) consisted of 208 pieces. The breakfast/tea service (which consisted of tea plates, preserve plates, coffee cups, egg cups, tea cups, and cake plates ) consisted of 260 pieces. She also ordered four "servers" (large plates for serving chocolates) and four large centerpieces (white pelicans formed a pillar, on which was a large platform on which dishes could be presented).

Lincoln completed her purchases by ordering glassware from Christian Dorflinger, a company based in Brooklyn, New York. Two sets of glasses were ordered: Tinted-red sherry glasses, and a larger "toddy glass" (a wide-mouth drinking glass similar to a round, shallow martini glass). These had the Great Seal of the United States etched into their front. On the sides and backs were small flowers. A decorative border of umbrella-like shapes was etched into the lip, and the base featured groups of rays, spreading outward.

The china cost $3,195. E.V. Haughwout delivered the china on September 2, 1861. The Lincoln china is the first State Dinner Service chosen entirely by a First Lady.