
Vase--National Porcelain Manufactory of Sèvres,
France, 1898. One of a pair of cobalt blue vases
presented to McKinley to commemorate the inauguration
of the Franco-American cable under the Atlantic.
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Increased
coverage by the press and public interest in the
lives of the White House families inevitably has
led to writing about objects in the White House.
Mrs. McKinley granted permission to Abby Gunn Baker
to research and write the first history of the White
House china. The McKinley’s also refurbished
the Blue Room in the Colonial Revival style—the
first example of the style on the state floor.
Theodore and Edith Roosevelt brought significant
changes to the White House out of the necessity
of accommodating their six children. Under the direction
of the New York architectural firm of McKim, Mead,
& White, the second floor family quarters were
expanded and the staff offices moved to a new west
wing. A major goal of the 1902 Roosevelt restoration
was to design and furnish the interior in harmony
with its neoclassical exterior architecture in order
that it would not be subject to changing fashion.
McKim, Mead, & White designed Colonial Revival
furnishings for the home, impressive chandeliers
were installed in the East Room, and other furnishings
were obtained to fill the house. Edith Roosevelt
ordered new state china with a restrained pattern
to serve 120: the capacity of the newly enlarged
State Dining Room.
Betty C. Monkman, The White House: Its Historic
Furnishings and First Families, 176-197.
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