White House: Its Historic Furnishings and First Families

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With a fascinating, anecdotal text by the curator of the White House, this beautifully illustrated, ground-breaking book is the most comprehensive survey ever published of the furnishings of the President's House and the changing tastes of the 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.


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.

295 illustrations

ISBN: 9780789206244
Author: MONKMAN BETTY C
Format: Hardcover
Publication date: 08/06/2000
RRP: $150.00
Pages: 320
Dimension: 248mm X 305mm
Imprint: Abbeville Press