The White House Gardens: A History and Pictorial Record.

NIXON, Patricia. [Preface]; [Jacqueline Kennedy; Rose Kennedy].

$12,000.00

Item Number: 142435

New York: Great American Editions, 1973.

First edition of the first book to trace the history of and fully illustrate the grounds of the White House gardens. Oblong quarto, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated with color plates by Harold Sterner. Association copy, inscribed by Jacqueline Kennedy on the half-title page, “For Grandma with love Jackie.” The recipient, Rose Kennedy, was the matriarch of the Kennedy family: the wife of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., mother of John F. Kennedy and his eight siblings, mother-in-law of Jacqueline Kennedy, and grandmother of the children of John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy. She was a devout catholic and deeply embedded in the “lace curtain” Irish American community in Boston. After her son John was elected president in 1960, Rose “became a sort of quiet celebrity” and appeared on the International Best Dressed List. Most of her social activities consisted of involvement in charities and women’s groups. Here, Jackie refers to Rose and ‘Grandma’ as the book was given on her children’s behalf to their grandmother. From the collection of Rose Kennedy. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. An exceptional association.

The White House Gardens is the first book that traces both the history of the most famous gardens in the United States (from the time of John Adams to the present), and gives detailed illustrations on how they are planned and how they appear. Patricia Nixon states in the preface to the work: "This impressive volume is an artistic treasury ... a comprehensive reference ... a vital document. I invite you to experience the historic traditions which are so much a part of our national heritage."