The White House: Its Historic Furnishings and First Families »

For 200 years the White House has served as the residence of our nation's president and his family. John and Abigail Adams were the first residents, and each family ever since has been able to make the White House a comfortable home and to acquire the necessities for handsomely carrying out its additional functions as nexus for state ceremony and entertaining. In captivating detail, this volume—produced in association with the White House Historical Association—reveals how the decoration of the White House has reflected the personal style of our first families and their countless forays into redecorating.

Illustrated largely with photographs especially commissioned for this book, as well as historic pictures, The White House focuses on some of our nation's most important heirlooms, including furniture, silver, glass, porcelain, and textiles. Enlivened with stories about the first families and how their furnishings often clashed with the politics of the time, this book is an ideal gift for those interested in the decorative arts, biography, and history.

Library Journal

Publication of this well-written, beautifully photographed book coincides with the 200th anniversary of White House occupancy. Monkman, the White House curator, documents the furnishings and decorative objects as well as the metamorphoses of White House interiors. The impact of the presidents and first ladies is particularly intriguing. Monkman traces the house's history from its humble beginnings--John and Abigail Adams moved in to a partially finished building in November 1800--through its sacking during the Madison administration to Jacqueline Kennedy's impressive efforts to keep the history of the house alive. Her work led to the institutionalization of the White House as a museum, which the American Museum Association accredited in 1988. The back of the book features a catalog of the illustrated objects. This important work is highly recommended for any collection.--Jennifer Mayer, Univ. of Wyoming Libs., Laramie Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Pg. 8

Introduction: Wendell Garrett

Pg. 10

Preface: Betty C. Monkman

Pg. 13

Acknowledgments

Pg. 17

The President's House in the Early Years, 1789-1814

GEORGE WASHINGTON, JOHN ADAMS, THOMAS JEFFERSON, JAMES MADISON

Pg. 19

The White House: From Design to Destruction, 1793-1814

Pg. 49

French Taste at its White House Zenith, 1817-29

JAMES MONROE, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS

Pg. 53

The Blue Room

Pg. 77

The People's President and the Jacksonian Era, 1830s-40s

ANDREW JACKSON, MARTIN VAN BUREN, WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, JOHN TYLER, JAMES K. POLK

Pg. 81

The Green Room

Pg. 107

Revivals of the "Antique" at Mid-Century, 1850s-60s

ZACHARY TAYLOR, MILLARD FILLMORE, FRANKLIN PIERCE,

JAMES BUCHANAN, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, ANDREW JOHNSON

Pg. 111

The Red Room

Pg. 139

Renaissance Revivals and the Aesthetic Movement, 1870s-1890s

ULYSSES S. GRANT, RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, JAMES A. GARFIELD,

CHESTER A. ARTHUR, GROVER CLEVELAND, BENJAMIN HARRISON, WILLIAM MCKINLEY

Pg. 143

The East Room

Pg. 181

National Identity and the Colonial Revival, 1900-1950s

THEODORE ROOSEVELT, WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT, WOODROW WILSON, WARREN G. HARDING, CALVIN COOLIDGE, HERBERT HOOVER, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, HARRY S. TRUMAN, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER 1

Pg. 185

The State Dining Room

Pg. 229

A Museum Evolves from a Collection

JOHN F. KENNEDY, LYNDON B. JOHNSON, RICHARD M. NIXON, GERALD R. FORD, JIMMY CARTER, RONALD W. REAGAN, GEORGE H. W. BUSH, WILLIAM J. CLINTON

Pg. 233

Important Acquisitions, 1961-2000

Pg. 267

Endnotes

Pg. 273

Catalog of Objects: William G. Allman

Pg. 279

Picture Credits

Pg. 312

Bibliography

Pg. 313

Index

Pg. 315

Author Biography: Betty C. Monkman has worked in the White House curator's office since 1967; in 1997 she was named curator. She has written numerous articles on White House decorative arts. Bruce White, formerly a staff photographer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, specializes in photographing art and architecture.