The White House

Előszó

Introduction
IT IS HEARTENING and reassuring that President and Mrs. Richard M. Nixon are giving continuity to the restoration of the White House, which Mrs. John F. Kennedy so admirably began and which Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson carried on. This is as it should be, for the White House is the most famous house in the United States, symbolizing the character of the highest office in the Republic.
After her husband's inauguration, Mrs. Kennedy decided a series of publications should be prepared to explain every facet of the White House: its history, its architectural significance, its contents. The White House Historical Association was formed to carry out this project.
"This guidebook is for all of the people who visit the White House each year," Mrs. Kennedy said in her letter introducing the first edition. "It was planned—at first—^for the children. It seemed such a shame that they should have nothing to take away with them, to help sort out the impressions received on an often crowded visit Its purpose was to stimulate their sense of history and their pride in their country."
Properly so, for every President except George Washington lived in this house, and the great decisions that have determined the destiny of our country have been made within its walls.
When Mrs. Johnson became First Lady and continued the guidebook she said, "The White House is not simply the home of the President. Its rooms, its furniture, its paintings, its countless mementos make it a living story of the whole experience of the American people, the habits and the hopes, the triumphs and the troubles and the bedrock faith of our Nation The President and I are sure you will leave it with heightened interest in the long and stirring heritage which, like the White House itself, belongs to all of us."
Yet the significance of the President's House goes beyond its historical meaning. It suggests a way of life in which we all take pride. We want it to be an example of excel-
lence, with the old and beautiful things which symbolize the dignity of the President's House brought back. We wish to see here as many objects associated with past Presidents as it is possible to recover. Already, much has been accomplished.
These improvements in the White House would be impossible without private donations. And this is right; it is typically American. The gifts from private individuals have been as varied as they have been touching. They have ranged from paintings and drawings costing many thousands of dollars to a piece of velvet of exactly the right period, color, and design to cover two chairs which Lincoln once used. To all of those who have contributed to this effort we extend our most sincere gratitude.
The directors of the White House Historical Association are grateful to those who have gathered, researched, and written the material for this guidebook. They are particularly indebted to the National Geographic Society and to Dr. Melville Bell Grosvenor, its Editor-in-Chief. The Society, as a public service, has taken the photographs for the guidebook and supervised its publication.
The Association has donated substantially of its earnings from the sale of this guidebook to enhance the restoration work. It has made possible the purchase of paintings and historic furnishings; the redecoration of several rooms; and the restoration of the East Garden.
The President hopes that as many Americans as possible will come here to see these treasures of their heritage and will renew their sense of the wonder and strength of the American tradition. With equal pleasure he welcomes visitors from other lands. He hopes that all who enter the White House will, in these incomparable surroundings, sense our Nation's rich and stirring past.
John Walker
Director, National Gallery of Art Vissza