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James Polk's cabinet

James Polk's cabinet

Date of Work
1846
Medium
Daguerreotype
Credit
James K. Polk Memorial

James Polk's cabinet

President Polk and his cabinet assembled in the State Dining Room. An image of dual historical significance: the earliest photographic record of a White House interior and the first photograph of a U.S. President and his advisors. Seated, left to right: Attorney General John Y. Mason, Secretary of War William Marcy, President Polk, Secretary of the Treasury Robert J. Walker; standing: Postmaster General Cave Johnson (center); Secretary of the navy George Bancroft. One of President Monroe's mantels imported from Italy can be seen in the background. Half-plate daguerreotype, approximately 4 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches, attributed to John Plumbe, Jr.

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