The White House Gallery of Official Portraits of The Presidents

The White House Gallery of Official Portraits of The Presidents. 1901. New York, Washington: The Gravure Company of America. Folio.(16" x 20") 24 full page gravures with opposite page of text. Every plate with descriptive tissue guard. Rebacked. Three quarter brown leather with fancy gilt rule to all leather edges, over green pebbled cloth. There are strips of brown leather to head and foot of boards as well making all edges leather. Lacking original ties to fore-edge. Minor rubbing to board edges, rebacked spine with six gilt rule borderd raised bands, gilt lettering to second compartment. A very large, beautifully bound book with extra heavy paper for plates, all the original tissue guards, and text pages that feature vignettes of homesteads and more (see pic).

A monumental 1901 McKinley Memorial Edition presenting the official White House portraits of the presidents from George Washington through William McKinley. The volume contains 24 full-page photogravure portraits, each accompanied by descriptive text and a tissue guard. Contemporary institutional and bookseller records confirm the 24-portrait format and the limited, numbered nature of the edition.

Limitation page at front of text states: Editor’s Note. The Official Portraits of the Presidents as they hang in the White House have been selected from time to time as the best of each of our Chief Executives. Most of them have been painted by order of Congress, the artists being selected for their skill and reputation, and in most instances on account of their great personal knowledge of their subjects. The appreciation and historical review of the life and administration of each President has been especially prepared by a leading American. Of our many public men, the publishers have been fortunate in securing the man of all men in each case, who, by reason of his special knowledge of a certain period of our history, is best adapted to write about it; and these contributions present accurately and authoritatively the really great accomplishments of each administration, while they give us at the same time a beautiful word picture of the personality of the President himself. The unique feature of the edition is the color impression sketches, illustrating the historic associations in the life and administration of each President. The McKinley Memorial Edition being limited each copy is numbered and registered Number 7.