Mary's Move from the White House

[Donna McCreary]

Laurie, that is my point exactly! Mary was not hoarding - she was storing items so we can study them today. She had all of Lincoln's papers and artifacts to store, White House items, and photographs. Other clothing items would have incluced: bonnets, snoods, mantels, capes, muffs, and gloves.

And speaking of gloves . . .
When Sarah Bernhardt came to America in 1881, she had with her 350 pairs of white opera gloves. When taken into consideration the reasons and needs for gloves, Mary's 300 pairs is not unreasonable (for details on Mary's gloves, see page 203 - 204 of THE MARY LINCOLN ENIGMA)

The purposes of gloves was to help keep the 'great unwashed' at bay from a lady. Her crinoline served the same purpose. A gentleman was to stay outside of the petticoat's circumference and not invade a lady's personal space. His skin was never to touch hers in public. A lady wore her gloves for all activities except eating. Gloves were thin and made to be tossed out when soiled. It has been said that Lincoln used up to five pairs of gloves per night due to the large number of people coming to shake hands with the President and his lady. If we look at the White House entertainments, multiple the number of gloves needed per night (and consider that Mary needed few than her husband), we find that her 300 pairs of gloves would have lasted no more than seven months.
All we really know about Mary's purchase is that Judge Davis said he had a bill for 300 pairs of gloves which were purchased between January and April of 1865, and he refused to pay it. We have no idea why he refused to pay. Perhaps it was already paid; perhaps a merchant was trying to take advantage of the Lincoln estate -- we just do not know. What we do know is that women in the public eye, needed many pairs of gloves when they were in a receiving line.

And yes, Mary liked to shop. She elevated it to an art form. She was generous with gifts to friends and family and made many purchases for them in her later years.