President Buchanan and Harriet Lane with Gifts from Japanese Delegation

This wood engraving depicts President James Buchanan and Harriet Lane, his niece who served as White House hostess, inspecting gifts given to the United States by the Japanese delegation in the spring of 1860. This was the first visit to the United States by Japanese diplomats. The visit was a response to the 1852-1854 expedition to Japan by Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry that resulted in an open trade treaty between the two nations. Some of the gifts visible in the engraving are katanas, saddles, and fabric. The caption at the bottom of the image is in German.