First Lady Laura Bush toured “The Presidential Dish: Mrs. Woodrow Wilson and the White House China Room” exhibition at Woodrow Wilson House on Thursday, December 6, 2007. The exhibition celebrates the 90th anniversary of the creation of the White House China Room by former First Lady Edith Bolling Wilson. Mrs. Bush and her Southern Methodist University classmates visited the fashionable 1915 Georgian Revival-style house just off Embassy Row which is furnished as it was in President Wilson’s time, and experienced a living textbook of modern life in the 1920s – from sound recordings to silent films, from flapper dresses to zinc sinks.

On hand to welcome Mrs. Bush were Wilson House Advisory Board Chair Stuart J. Brahs and Historic Site Committee Chair Joan Fabry. Collector Set Charles Momjian and Exhibition Curator James Archer Abbott presented historic highlights during the tour of The Presidential Dish exhibition. The Presidential Dish exhibition is comprised of Presidential porcelains on loan from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Set Charles Momjian that duplicate the inventory record of china displayed 90 years ago at the Wilson White House in carefully replicated casework capped with plaques – “CHINA USED BY THE PRESIDENTS” – recreate the collection as displayed in the White House in 1917.

The exhibition is unique in its exploration of both the evolution of decorative taste and the importance of symbolism to the American political stage. The range is broad, with plates representing George Washington to Woodrow Wilson. The exhibition is on display through August 4, 2008 and is accompanied by a publication to which Mrs. Bush contributed a letter of welcome.

Following the creation of the White House China Room, the Wilsons were the first to commission an American-manufactured State Dinner service. A symbol of national patriotism during World War I that has a potent relevance in 2007, the “Presidential Collection Room” as President and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson knew it was located on the ground floor next to the Diplomatic Reception Room where foreign dignitaries often entered the mansion. Mrs. Wilson’s choice of location was significant and demonstrated a great sense of pride for the President, too. Mrs. Bush was especially appreciative of Edith Wilson’s early preservationist efforts, and spoke to Mr. Momjian of his collection. The exhibition’s display of his Rutherford B. Hayes State service is unquestionably the largest outside of the White House.

Exhibition Curator James Abbott added that the significance of the China Room itself should not be overlooked: “Mrs. Wilson’s sponsorship of the creation of this now famous room symbolized the United States’ validation as a true world power. Though a rather simple idea, the gallery succinctly packaged the nation’s history, providing a valuable addition to the patriotic backdrop of the Presidency – particularly important during a time of international conflict.”

Having just completed restoration of the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House, Mrs. Bush and her friends were particularly interested in Edith Wilson’s replication of the dimensions of the Lincoln Bed for the former President’s bedroom on S Street. As the tour continued, the Robert Vonnoh painting of the first Mrs. Wilson and the three Wilson daughters prompted Mrs. Bush to ask about the Presidential daughters and their lives after the White House.

At the conclusion of the house tour Mrs. Bush was presented with a Presidential Dish scarf and her classmates received copies of the exhibition publication.

The Presidential Dish exhibition is made possible, in part, by The Richard C. Von Hess Foundation. Its accompanying color-illustrated publication is made possible by contributions from Richard Bolling Fuller, Cary Clark Fuller, and William and Frederica Kolker Saxon.