Romantic Furniture and President Lincoln

Romantic Furniture and President Lincoln

Posted by Magnolia Hall on Sep 10th 2014

This is actually two stories - Romantic furniture and President Lincoln. Those who love our furniture will find it very interesting.

Story #1 is about Victorian furniture reproductions in America.
Story #2 is about the assassination of President Lincoln in 1865.

What connection did a furniture manufacturer in Montgomery Alabama have with the Assassination of the 16th President?

Story 1

1865 was a time of hardship in Montgomery, Alabama. Following the civil war came a time of reconstruction. Most of the wealth of the local citizens had been wiped out and basic necessities were scarce. Stores lay empty. Travel by steamer or railroad had been destroyed.
In 1890 industrialists and financiers began to visit Montgomery in search of business sites. A lumber mill, textile and garment factories, and cotton and fertilizer plants were established.
During the 1950’s and 60’s Alabama was in the center of the civil rights movement, and things were changing….rapidly. It was during these interesting times that Romantic Furniture was being made in Montgomery.

When we started in business in 1962, we sold this Romantic Victorian and French furniture by catalog, along with related designs that complemented the period. In those years there was a core group of manufacturers around Montgomery, Alabama. A gentleman by the name of Carlton McLendon was instrumental in founding the manufacturing of reproductions that featured romantic furniture design. The industry prospered, and we were one of the beneficiaries of that romantic furniture boon.

But, due to supply and demand, business decisions, and other factors the Victorian and French furniture industry collapsed in the U.S. Today it is just about impossible to find American made reproductions.

Story 2

Romantic Furniture and President Lincoln

Ford's Theater

On April 14, 1865, just five days after General Lee’s surrender, President Lincoln was assassinated in Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. Following the tragedy, the theatre was closed to any theatrical performances. The rocking chair that the President was sitting in was eventually sold to an agent of Henry Ford, and is on exhibit today in the Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI.

Romantic Furniture and President Lincoln

president's box in Ford's theater

The theater eventually fell into disrepair, and in 1893, the front part of the building collapsed, killing 22 clerks and injuring another 68. This led some to believe that the building was cursed. Repaired and used for storage till 1911, it languished unused until 1918. Decades of lobbying finally resulted in a bill that was passed in 1955 to rebuild the structure. Thus, in the 1960’s Ford’s theater was restored, based on photographs taken by Matthew Brady. Efforts to secure the original rocker and return it to the theater box failed. So, here is where our story #1 meets story #2.

The restoration team contacted the Carlton McLendon Furniture Company with a request to make a reproduction of the famous Lincoln rocker. At first, McLendon refused, balking at signing a contract. He is reported to have said: “I’ve been in business for 30 years and I’ve never yet signed a contract. Somebody tells me they want something; I build it, deliver it, send them an invoice, and they pay me. That is the end of it.” Finally, McClendon agreed to produce the rocker for free, but relented when he was told by the government that they didn’t work that way.

McLendon worked on the reproduction from enlargements of Brady’s photographs. It was reported that the rocker is “an exact duplicate of the original, made of walnut and covered with red damask…with every dimension and carving detail accurate to a tolerance closer than one sixteenth of an inch”.

The newly restored theater was dedicated on January 21, 1968 and the McLendons were among the invited guests to the gala. When news spread of the detailed work that went into the rocker, the orders came filing in to the McLendons.

An interesting Footnote:

Magnolia Hall sold the Lincoln rocker for decades. In fact, in 1998 the television show, “Touched by an Angel” aired a story about the Lincoln assassination. To recreate the scene for the show, the producers bought a Lincoln Rocker from Magnolia Hall, which was used in the telecast.

Originally, the McLendon Lincoln Rocker was made out of Walnut, and later Mahogany. Due to rising costs, the rocker was later produced out of Maple wood. Finally, in 2006 the last company that sprang from Carlton McLendon closed, and their last Lincoln Rocker left the factory.