Major acquisition: original builder’s prints

STICKY POST

In 2008, I was contacted by Darren Dumont in Maine about some builder’s plans that had come into his possession from family and which dated back to the Truman reconstruction of the White House in 1948-1952. He looked into other offers but eventually decided that the White House Museum was the right venue for them, and in December we at last settled on a price. They are now in my possession.

These are big, 4-foot by 3-and-half foot documents (some smaller) with great detail, most of which are in good condition. Together with my copies of The Report of the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion, I feel like I have a real window into that very special time in the history of the White House.

The areas included are primarily basement and ground floor rooms, with some first and second floor areas. No particularly security-sensitive areas are included. In fact, everything in the plans is already covered in the White House Museum, but these provide fascinating detail about construction and dimensions, particularly about moldings and wall structure. One has an enlightening comparison of the windows in the East and West Sitting Halls. Another shows exactly how the president’s closet is constructed.

It is my privilege and pleasure to offer images of these documents on the White House Museum site. Please consider making a donation to help offset the cost of acquisition.

You can even sponsor a specific document. Half ($100) and full ($200) sponsorships are available for each document. The sponsor’s name will be attached to any images posted on the White House Museum site for as long as I own the documents (which should be a good long while) in the format “From the collection of Derek Jensen; sponsored in full by XXX” or “…sponsored by XXX and YYY”. Just click the Donate button under the document you’d like to sponsor (donate a second time for full sponsorship). THANKS!

My plan is to stabilize the documents to preserve them and to make high-resolution copies. Some of these I will likely make available for purchase at large size, suitable for framing. Should I do so, sponsors will be offered one gratis for each document sponsored.

Thanks, Darren Dumont, and thanks to all those who have written with compliments and suggestions over the years and made this site a pleasure.

Site outage update: back online… sort of

UPDATE: 5/19… With no explanation, GoDaddy resolved the access issue, but the result is that it completely wiped my entire site. Wow.

I’m uploading everything again now. It’s going to take a couple of days before it’s all back in place.

White House Museum down *Update

The White House Museum website has been down since last night. I have a support ticket in to GoDaddy.

UPDATE: GoDaddy says…

Due to its complex nature, your issue has been relayed to our Advanced Technical Support Team. Our most skilled technicians will be working to resolve your issue quickly and completely. You will be notified promptly upon resolution.

Rex Scouten

The New York Times reports that one-time White House chief user Rex Scouten has died. He was 88 and suffered complications after hip surgery. Our best wishes go out to his friends and family.

Scouten served 10 presidents, from Truman to Clinton not only as chief usher from 1969 to 1986 but also previously as a Secret Service agent and afterward as curator. Scouten never wrote a book or otherwise published any memoirs.

Wing photos

Added several new photos of the East Wing and West Wing, mostly from the 1880s to the 1920s.

The White House: An Illustrated Architectural History

Patrick Phillips-Schrock, who has long supported and contributed to this site, has recently had his White House book published, and it’s available now on Amazon and from other fine bookmongers.

From Amazon: “This meticulous history, featuring more than 325 photographs, diagrams and other illustrations, captures each stage of the White House’s architectural and decorative evolution.”

Patrick’s contributions to this site have primarily been with fascinating diagrams that show the details of which parts of the White House were constructed and when and what the rooms must have looked like before the time of photography. They can be found dotting the site, such as here, here, here, and here.

UPDATE: I got mine a few days ago, and it’s just fascinating. Patrick goes into great detail about losing proposals, original designs, failed expansions, and renovations. He has great recreations of the various rooms’ decor from the early days. It’s just incredible. Thank you, Patrick!

Historical Residence images

I’ve added several new images of the Residence from the early 19th century that I found in the Library of Congress. They seem to be slowly adding more of their collection online.

Kennedy China and Vermeil Rooms and the pre-blue Blue Room

My thanks to Patrick Phillips-Schrock for two gorgeous photos from the Kennedy renovation. We’ve never seen the China Room and the Vermeil Room from this period so clearly. Check them out on What’s New.

Patrick has also supplied images that portray his research into the Blue Room before it was blue.