Story of the White House, The.
From The Library Of Eleanor Roosevelt
[Roosevelt, Eleanor]. Singleton, Esther. The Story of the White House. In Two Volumes Fully Illustrated. New York: The McClure Company, MCMVII [1907].
2 vols.; 8vo.; heavily illustrated; t.e.g.; blue cloth ornately stamped in gilt. In a specially made cloth slipcase.
First edition. A presentation copy, inscribed: Mrs. Roosevelt from Emma Bugbee Christmas 1935. Esther Singleton wrote dozens of books on antiquarian and historical subjects, such as Dutch New York (1909) and Daughters of the Revolution (1915). In this ornately produced, two-volume history of the White House, Singleton “strictly avoided any reference to the political turmoils of which the Executive Mansion was necessarily the center” and chose instead “the lighter and more picturesque points of view.” Unfortunately she slights even some of these, such as the so-called “petticoat affair” that erupted when the wives of Andrew Jackson’s Cabinet members all refused to entertain Peggy Eaton, the former mistress, and then wife, of Secretary of War John Eaton. Singleton is too decorous to go into the sexual details of the episode, and one of the most “picturesque” episodes in the history of the White House gets passed over in disappointingly decorous brevity. The first volume ends with Polk and the second brings the story of the Mansion up to “the present Administration,” that of Eleanor’s Uncle Theodore. “During President Roosevelt’s Administration,” Singleton writes, “the historic mansion has undergone complete repair and restoration—so complete, in fact, that the vexed question of an appropriate home for the President of the United States is, in all probability, settled forever.”
(#5037)
Print Inquire