Slavery and the White House
Construction on the President’s House began in 1792. The decision to place the capital on land ceded by two slave st...
Earliest Known Photograph of White House
- Photographer
- John Plumbe Jr.
- Date of Work
- 1846
- Medium
- Photo
- Credit
- Library of Congress
Earliest Known Photograph of White House
South view of the President's House looking north and west: earliest known photograph of the White House, c. January 1846, President Polk's first year in office. The cast of the shadows indicates that the photograph was taken in early morning light. Notice the barren trees, the patch of snow in the foreground and the piles of snow at the base of the staircase. Half-plate daguerreotype, approximately 4 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches, attributed to John Plumbe, Jr.
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