REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. DT 
presenting the earliest of the wives of Presidents, also the one most 
readily identified, probably because of our long acquaintance with 
the portraiture of this first lady of the Republic, which has been 
successfully reproduced. 
Mrs. John Adams, the wife of the second President, is shown in a 
dress of puritanical simplicity, made of plum-colored Chinese crépe 
embroidered with silk, and having a straight full skirt and long 
puffed sleeves. A lace shawl, a fan, a pearl necklace, and yellow 
kid slippers complete the costume. The wife of James Madison, 
best known as Mrs. Dolly Madison, is very effectively presented in 
the dress used by Mr. E. F. Andrews for the portrait well known to 
Washingtonians. ‘The costume belongs to the early Empire period. 
The short-waisted basque and the overskirt, which ends in a flowing 
train, are of light yellow satin brocaded with many bunches of silver 
wheat. The overskirt, edged with Valenciennes lace, is draped over 
a white satin underskirt embroidered in pink roses, blue morning- 
glories, and white cherry blossoms. The sleeves, of gauze, are short, 
and a large lace fichu is thrown over the shoulders. In the right 
hand is the traditional book, which in this instance consists of a copy 
of Paradise Lost, published in 1812. 
Search for a dress of Mrs. James Monroe having proved fruitless, 
a gown of the period imported from France in 1824 for the first 
bride of the White House, Maria Hester Monroe, the youngest 
daughter of the President, has been substituted. This dress, fash- 
ioned in Empire style, is of pale blue silk, is made with the Watteau 
pleated back, and the basque, which laces in front, has a decidedly 
long-waisted effect. The sleeves, which are short, are of blue tulle 
and blue and yellow ribbon knots. The skirt is in two wide flounces 
and, together with the waist, is embroidered and scalloped with 
straw in a conventionalized bearded-grain pattern. But 16 years 
of age when married to Samuel Laurence Gouverneur, the bride 
holds in one hand a lace handkerchief and silver vinaigrette. She is 
standing by the side of a chair and table, brought from France in 
1796 by James Monroe, on the latter of which is an old-fashioned 
mirror made from a fragment of larger glass, a relic of the burning 
of the White House in 1814, a superb ivory and silver fan, a silver 
pitcher and creamer, and a small cup decorated with an eagle 
surrounded by 13 stars, which is supposed to be the only piece of 
Monroe china now in existence. 
Lacking material for the administration of John Quincy Adams, 
the three which succeeded his are represented as follows: Andrew 
Jackson by Mrs. Jackson’s niece, Mrs. Andrew Jackson Donelson, 
who presided over the White House during his term of office, and 
whose costume consists of a bodice of old gold flowered brocade and 
