Blair House:

America's Blair House welcomes the most powerful diplomatic and political officials in the world through its doors to enjoy its comforts and historical surroundings during their stay in Washington, D.C. Built in 1824 and purchased by the Blair family in 1836, it long served as a home-away-from-home for American presidents, such as Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. In 1942, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States government purchased the house and its historic contents for use as a guest house for official visitors to the White House. Since then the federal government and private contributors have made this a retreat of special charm and beauty, “very American,” as its visitors often say. This book takes you through the long history of the house, now a complex of buildings, and inside its rooms today, with their elegant mingling of antiques and present-day furnishings. Illustrated throughout with newly commissioned photography of objects and interiors by Bruce M. White and Durston Saylor. Published by the White House Historical Association.