This print depicting the scene of President Zachary Taylor’s death is remarkably like the image produced nine years earlier, after the death of William Henry Harrison. Historians contend Mrs. Taylor appeared in public so rarely—even before the death of her husband—that the artist was compelled to depict the first lady with her face concealed in a handkerchief because he did not know what she looked like.
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Grand Funeral Pageant at New York
Date: ca. August 2, 1850 Creator: George E. Leefe Medium: Lithograph
This funeral procession took place in New York as a way for the city to honor the memory of the deceased president. The funeral caisson closely resembles descriptions of the one that carried President Taylor’s coffin in Washington, D.C. Draped heavily in black and white fabric, it was pulled by eight white horses, and affixed to its top was a large figure of an eagle.
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Hair of the Presidents, Washington, D.C., 1855
Date: 1855 Creator: John Varden Medium: Wood, paper, human hair
Keeping locks of a deceased person’s hair as a precious memento was a common practice in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The strands of hair were often manipulated into intricate forms, then mounted and hung like a painting, or braided into ropes and used as jewelry. In 1850, Mr. John Varden put out the call for the hair of U.S. presidents and other dignitaries, requesting “Those having hair of Distinguished Persons, will confere [sic] a Favor by adding to this Collection.” A small bundle of President Zachary Taylor’s purported hair can be found on the lower right-hand side of Varden’s display.
Division of Political History, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
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Margaret Taylor
Date: 1903 Creator: Bureau of National Literature and Art Medium: Print
There are no known images of Margaret Taylor. This image, allegedly of the first lady, was created in 1905, almost fifty years after she passed away.
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Mourning Dress, Great Britain
Date: 1845-1850 Creator: Unknown Medium: Silk
This black silk satin gown with form-fitting sleeves that extend slightly past the wearer’s wrists is similar to the dress First Lady Margaret Taylor wears in the print ‘Death of Genl. Z. Taylor.’ The lusterless fabric would have made it ideal for a woman in mourning. American fashions closely followed the styles set by France and England, copying European silhouettes printed in fashion magazines such as Godey's Lady’s Book and Magazine, Harper’s Monthly Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and Demorest’s Monthly.
Date: ca. 1853 Creator: Unknown Medium: hair, metal, gold, stone
Jane Pierce was another first lady who experienced intense bereavement; her young son Benny died tragically in a train accident shortly before Franklin Pierce’s Inauguration in 1853. This locket encircles a curl of hair, possibly her son’s, with gold and black stones. Mourning jewelry, made of black materials and often carrying a memento of the lost loved one, was a very common accessory during the nineteenth century. Mrs. Taylor may have carried a small memento such as this after the death of President Taylor.
Division of Political History, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
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