Holiday Book Festival!—Eleanor Roosevelt and the President's Neighborhood

1610 H Street Northwest,Washington DC 20006

29 November, 2021

Description

Meet the authors during the White House Historical Association's Holiday Book Festival! The White House Historical Association will be hosting a week long lunchtime Holiday Book Festival with different authors featured each day! Signing Daily: Marcia Anderson and Kristen Mason authors of The Official White House Ornament: Collected Stories of A Holiday Tradition. Enter a raffle to win an original drawing by artist John Hutton! Featured Authors on Monday, November 29: Mary Jo Binker will be signing her two books on Eleanor Roosevelt: If You Ask Me and What Are We For? Eleanor Zartman will be signing "Remembering the Life and Work of Malvina ("Tommy") Thompson, Eleanor Roosevelt's Secretary" an article about her aunt in White House History Quarterly. Osborne Mackie will be signing The Stephen Decatur House: A History. Issued annually by the White House Historical Association, Official White House Christmas Ornaments are hung on millions of Christmas trees each December. But the ornament program did not begin as a series. When the Angel Gabriel ornament was issued by the Association in 1981, it was an immediate success and the phenomenon began. Today the ornaments are a popular collector’s item and a long-standing and beloved tradition. This book includes the collected stories behind the design of each of the forty-one ornaments issued from 1981 to 2021. The forty-first ornament, made for 2021, honors President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1941, Eleanor Roosevelt embarked on a new career as an advice columnist. She had already transformed the role of first lady with her regular press conferences, her activism on behalf of women, minorities, and youth, her lecture tours, and her syndicated newspaper column. When Ladies Home Journal offered her an advice column, she embraced it as yet another way for her to connect with the public. “If You Ask Me” quickly became a lifeline for Americans of all ages. Covering a wide variety of topics—everything from war, peace, and politics to love, marriage, religion, and popular culture—these columns reveal Eleanor Roosevelt’s warmth, humanity, and timeless relevance. The new wayside exhibits in Lafayette Park pictured on our front cover guide those who stop to read them to find their way to a deeper understanding of the place where they stand and the White House they will see as they look up. This issue of White House History Quarterly, celebrates the act of wayfinding by bringing togeth-er diverse accounts from history’s scholars, witnesses, participants, and descendants. Eleanor Lund Zartman, the favorite niece of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s long-time secretary Tommy Thompson, recounts her still vivid memories of her aunt’s life and work. A celebrity for his heroics in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812, Commodore Stephen Decatur built his home in 1818 within sight of the President’s House with prize money awarded to him by Congress for his military victories. He commissioned Benjamin Henry Latrobe, America’s first professional architect, to create a home “fit for fine entertaining” and the resulting three-story square townhouse constructed with red brick in the Federal fashion is known as Decatur House today. This volume chronicles the history of the Stephen Decatur House in four parts—a biography of Stephen Decatur; an architectural history; study of the fine and decorative arts collection; and the evolution of the house from private home to historic site. The White House Historical Association published its first book, The White House: An Historic Guide, in 1962. It was the wish of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy that such a book be written, and she participated actively in the editing. For nearly sixty years, the Association has continued to produce award-winning books on a wide range of subjects related to the history of the President’s House, from its architecture, gardens, fine and decorative arts to the presidents and first ladies who lived there over the years. Our list includes titles that will appeal to history buffs and art lovers, connoisseurs and curious amateurs, scholars and tourists, adults and children. All proceeds from the sale of the Association’s books and products are used to fund the acquisition of historic furnishings and artwork for the permanent White House Collection, assist in the preservation of public rooms, and further its educational mission. The White House Historical Association is a nonprofit nonpartisan organization, chartered on November 3, 1961, to enhance the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the historic White House. Income from the sale of the Association's books and guides is used as well to acquire historical furnishings and memorabilia for the White House.