26 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. 
all are alike and are copied from a classic statue. The coiffure, 
usually with its ornaments, if any are shown, is molded, and is based 
upon a picture of the person represented or upon the style of the 
time to which the costume belongs. The differences which these pro- 
duce, together with changes in pose, all tend to obliterate the effect 
of uniformity in facial features, and give to each head the impres- 
sion of separate design. Neck ornaments are equally in plaster, and 
the arms are molded from living models, including the gloves, where 
they are worn. The draping has been well and tastefully done and 
the effects are unusually realistic, most markedly so in certain of 
the figures where the conditions were most favorable. The plaster 
work has been executed by Mr. H. W. Hendley, formerly of the 
Museum staff, under the direction of Mr. W. H. Holmes, while the 
dressing of the figures has been done by Mrs. Julian James and Mrs. 
Hoes, or under their supervision. In addition to the figures each 
case also contains one or two pieces of furniture, such as tables and 
chairs, and one or more other small articles having some relation to 
the administration represented. These give a more finished appear- 
ance to the cases and add to the historical interest of the collection. 
The 15 presidential administrations illustrated are as follows: 
George Washington, 1789-1797; John Adams, 1797-1801; James 
Madison, 1809-1817; James Monroe, 1817-1825; Andrew Jackson, 
1829-1837; Martin Van Buren, 1837-1841; William Henry Harrison, 
1841; John Tyler, 1841-1845; James K. Polk, 1845-1849; James 
Buchanan, 1857-1861; Ulysses S. Grant, 1869-1877; Rutherford B. 
Hayes, 1877-1881; Benjamin Harrison, 1889-1893; William Me- 
Kinley, 1897-1901; William H. Taft, 1909-1913. 
The first of these administrations is represented by Mrs. Martha 
Washington, who is seated in one of her own chairs, by the side of a 
Mount Vernon table, on which is a Washington silver platter con- 
taining a tea cup and saucer given her by the French officers, a de- 
canter and glass, and a Lowestoft bowl. The gown which she wears 
is of silk rep, of the old-fashioned salmon pink color, and is made of 
many straight widths, pleated on a bodice slightly pointed front and 
back. The entire dress is hand painted in a brocade design, in 1m- 
itation of purple ribbons artistically entwined and caught in loops, 
producing a repetition of larger and smaller rounded spaces, the 
former containing small nosegays, the latter, insects and other small 
animal forms, all done in their natural colors. There is a lace cap 
on the head and an embroidered linen shawl about the shoulders. 
The hands, in silk mitts, hold a workbag, on which is embroidered 
“Mrs. M. Washington” in gold, surrounded by a wreath of flowers 
in bright colors. While recognizing the futility of comparisons, this 
figure would seem to be the most realistic of the group, and, though 
