South view of the President's House looking north and west: earliest known photograph of the White House, c. January 1846, President Polk's first year in office. The cast of the shadows indicates that the photograph was taken in early morning light. Notice the barren trees, the patch of snow in the foreground and the piles of snow at the base of the staircase. Half-plate daguerreotype, approximately 4 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches, attributed to John Plumbe, Jr.