The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-04-24
A RELIC OF LINCOLN RECOVERED.
The Which Used to Serve
Him I'm the White House.

w
In the possession of Mrs. A. r. Perlie,
this city. is an interesting relic of the days
Of the civil war and of the time when
Abraham Lincoln occupied the White House.
1t is the old sideboard or wine press which
stood throughout the time of the war In
tie dining room of the presidential mansion.
Aside from the historic interest which at
taches to this antique piece of furniture.
on account of its having been in the posses
sion of the martyred President, 1t has a
subsequent history which is a peculiarly
sad one.
In showing the historic relic to a reporter
Mrs. Perlie told the story OF how 1t came
into her possession. .
TT was in 1886 that I moved to Washing
ton and rented a house. Shortly after /
had settled down the former tenant called
and asked for me. When / went down to
meet her she told me that all Of her former
belongings had been sold out at sheriff's
sale by the landlord in order to pay her
rent, which had fallen behind. Some of the
window shades had been overlooked In the
If / wanted TO buy them.
Il told her that would give her for them
m me' If 1 had 1ndS seem Lincoln's sideboard. I
told her that nothing had been left in the
house except an old cupboard down In the
wanted it at the sale on account of its be-
ing so unwieldy. She then told me that
the old cupboard was formerly the prop;
been one of the Presidents ~favorite SER
wants during his first term at the White
ward the close of his first tern. and at that
time 1t was an exceedingly handsome piece
Of furniture.
dent Lincoln highly and had left 1t upon
his death TO his niece. She, however, had
6 6sen Snabl to to her Ttil bsrl u in a anY W when as h sn
finances became so involved had taken 1t
down in the kitchen. where it was used as
Mrs. Perlie says that she examined II and
found that upon the back of the old piece
of furniture were credentials showing that
given by him TO the uncle of the woman who
formerly owned IL. The woman told her
that the sideboard had been formerly sur
mounted by a handsome mirror and that the
drawers intended for wines had been lined
with copper, while those intended for silver
had been lined with velvet; All OF this had
well.
Mrs Perlie paid the woman a few dollars
ing herself well rid OF II. At that time the
craze for antique furniture had not come
have the old sideboard modernized. Ac-
c~ordingly she sent II 10 a cabinet maker
and had eighteen inches OF its depth cut off.
now uses II as a chifonier. When Ii was
thoroughly renovated the old sideboard
turned out to be very valuable. both from
is made Of rosewood and mahogany, and
was formerly almost a perfect cube in
shape. IL Is now fve Feet tall, five and a
half feet long and about three and a half
feet deep. The panels of the doors and of
the drawers are OF rosewood, and the rest
Is heavily veneered with mahogany. A
heavy slab of rosewood OF a thickness OF
enc and a half inches serves as a back. The
top Is likewise OF heavy rosewood. The
handles to the drawers and the knobs of
the doors are OF heavy brass, and altogether
the old sideboard is an extremely odd and
beautiful piece of furniture. Its present
owner has been frequently offered sums far
beyond what she paid for II, but prefers to
retain in her possession the interesting relic
OF Lincoln's household.