Sergeant Dinsmore, of the White House Police, Receiving Visitors in the Grand Portico

This hand-colored wood engraving appeared in "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper" on July 23, 1881 and depicts Sergeant Edson S. Densmore (sometimes spelled Dinsmore) assisting visitors in the Entrance Hall of the White House. Densmore was a sergeant for the Metropolitan Police and assigned to the White House for protective duty. He left his position as a doorkeeper in 1887 and returned two years later as chief doorkeeper, the early iteration of White House Chief Usher. Densmore served in this role until his death in 1892.