Title: Resolute Partner's Desk

Description: An American ship found the abandoned HMS Resolute in 1855. The Resolute’s British crew had abandoned the ship in 1854, when it became surrounded by Arctic ice. Congress spent $40,000 to rescue and repair the ship and sent it to England as a goodwill gift to Queen Victoria. When the HMS Resolute was decommissioned, Queen Victoria had this desk made from its timbers and gave it to President Hayes. Since 1880, most presidents have used the richly carved desk in the White House.

Date: 1880

Creator: William Evenden, Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham, England

Credit: Photographed by Bruce White, copyright White House Historical Association