The "Tales From The Museum: President Buchanan's Mementoes" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Walking through the LancasterHistory.org Museum in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  I have viewed the current exhibit a few times, but each time I find something that I had missed during the previous visit.  Since the museum is directly next to former President James Buchanan's home known as Wheatland, I always find a few items that were part of is life that I had missed on my last visit.  Two items that I found today are rather interesting; a chair that Buchanan was standing next to when he received the Presidential Nomination of the Democratic Party, ca. 1850 and an Emperor's bowl that was presented to him as a gift I 1860 by the Japanese delegates representing the Tokugawa shogunate government.  A bit of information about each follows:

The chair Buchanan was seated in when he
won the nomination for President of the U.S. 

The Democratic National Convention was held in 1856 in Cincinnati, Ohio.  During the convention James Buchanan, U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain at the time from Lancaster, PA, was nominated for President on the seventeenth ballot and former Representative John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky was to be his Vice President.  Samuel Medary, acting President of the Convention, sat in this chair as Buchanan was offered the Presidential nomination.  At the time the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and subsequent violence known as "Bleeding Kansas" from the civil strife in the Kansas Territory during its campaign for statehood, plagued the party.  

This is the plaque at the top of the chair that reads:
Occupied by the President of the National Democratic
Convention at Cincinnati, June 3rd, 1856. 

President Pierce and Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois were seen as being at the center of the controversy which led many party members to look elsewhere for a new candidate for president.  

The detail of the reddish-brown leather
chair can be seen here.  The leather is
held in place by upholstery tacks.  The
chair looks to be hand-constructed by
a master craftsman.  Click to enlarge image.

The Buchanan-Breckinridge ticket went on to win the 1856 presidential election by defeating John C. Fremont and William L. Dayton who were the candidates for the new Republican Party.  The American Party of the "Know Nothings" were represented by former President Millard Fillmore and Andrew J Donelson.  As I stood in front of the chair, I felt honored to be able to touch and photograph this exquisite piece of furniture that is part of the history of the United States.  The older I get, the more I appreciate items such as this.  And, it will be around a lot longer than I will be!

The bowl presented to Buchanan by the Japanese Emperor.

The bowl pictured here was created by Jihei kawamoto as one of two bowls for sake which is an alcoholic beverage made with fermented rice.  This bowl reflects the Emperor's personal symbol and his deep regard for James Buchanan marking a new and firm friendship between Japan and the United States.  After Lincoln was assassinated, Mrs. Lincoln decided to sell the bowl to pay the debt she was struggling under.  

Interior of the bowl.

Mr. George Riggs, a family friend, advised her not to sell the bowl, but she put the bowl up for sale anyway.  Mr. Riggs made an offer for the bowl and she sold it to him.  When Mr. Riggs died, his daughter inherited it and eventually bequeathed it to Mr. J.B. McMullen.  Mr. Wylie Buchanan, a distant relative of James Buchanan, purchased the bowl from McMullen and donated it to the Wheatland collection in 1960.  It has finally come home at last.  This is a lovely piece of pottery and has ties to President James Buchanan.  So glad it will be part of LancasterHistory.org forever.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Detail along the side of the bowl.