The First Ladies Hall

Summary

Booklet briefly describes the Smithsonian Institution's collection of dresses of the First Ladies of the White House which are on display in the First Ladies Hall in the National Museum of American History. Begun in 1912, the collection contains a dress representing the administration of every President of the United States [from George Washington through Lyndon Johnson, at the time the booklet was published], and is installed in seven period settings that display the dresses, worn by plastic mannequins, in the type of surroundings in which they were originally worn. After general information on the collection, the booklet devotes two pages to each of the seven period settings: one page is a black and white photograph of the mannequins in the period setting, and the other contains historically descriptive text concerning the high points of the dresses and/or objects in that particular setting.

Subject

• White House (Washington, D.C.)
• First Ladies Hall
• National Museum of History and Technology (U.S.)
• National Museum of American History (U.S.) (NMAH)

Category

Smithsonian Institution History Bibliography

Notes

Author of the 16-page booklet's text was associate curator of political history, U. S. National Museum (NMAH).

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

1965

Topic

• Costume
• Clothing and dress
• Museums
• First Ladies Gowns
• Presidents
• Presidents' spouses
• Museum exhibits

Place

United States

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