This is a Berlin work embroidered picture of a red-tailed hawk perched among flowers and foliage. Berlin work is an embroidery technique similar to modern-day needlepoint. This piece is one of the many examples of Americana found in the guest rooms of Blair House. Blair House is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and has been used as the president's guest house since the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Visiting diplomats and dignitaries stay at Blair House while on official visits with the White House and is historically where the president-elect and first family reside prior to taking the oath of office.

This is a portrait of John Cook Rives completed in 1822. Rives started a newspaper called "The Globe" with Francis Preston Blair. At first wealthy supporters funded the newspaper but, later, Congress gave federal contracts to the paper. Rives and Blair also started to print the proceedings of Congress. This turned out to be a successful project and is still in practice today as "The Congressional Record." This portrait is a part of Blair's family collection. When he moved his family from Kentucky to Washington, D.C., the family took up residence is in what is now known as Blair House. Blair House is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and has been used as the president's guest house since the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Visiting diplomats and dignitaries stay at Blair House while on official visits with the White House and is historically where the president-elect and first family reside prior to taking the oath of office.

This is a commemorative plate that is part of the Curio Room collection in Blair House. The plate commemorates the ship "Caroline" which was a passenger ship, but also carried convicts to Australia in the 1820s. Blair House is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and has been used as the president's guest house since the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Visiting diplomats and dignitaries stay at Blair House while on official visits with the White House and is historically where the president-elect and first family reside prior to taking the oath of office.

This textile is the detail of the upholstery of the wing chair in the Curio Room of Blair House. The chair is an 18th century Queen Anne with cabriole legs and padded feet. The chair is descended from the family of President Theodore Roosevelt before it was donated to Blair House by Selwa "Lucky" Roosevelt, who served as Chief of Protocol for the Department of State during the Reagan administration. Blair House is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and is known as the President's Guest House. Visiting diplomats and dignitaries stay at Blair House while on official visits with the White House and is historically where the president-elect and first family reside prior to taking the oath of office.

This photograph by Bruce White shows the detail of a rope bed in Blair House. This bed is made of walnut wood. Ropes are tied tightly around the knobs on the frame of the bed to support a shuck or feather mattress This bed is located in one of the top floor guest rooms in Blair House, which is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and is known as the President's Guest House. Visiting diplomats and dignitaries stay at Blair House while on official visits with the White House and is historically where the president-elect and first family reside prior to taking the oath of office.

This is a sewing table owned by the Blair family, the former residents of Blair House. The lyre shaped support for this table reflects the Greek Revival stylings of the late 18th century. Today this piece is used as a bedside table in the North Bedroom of Blair House. Blair House is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and is known as the President's Guest House. Visiting diplomats and dignitaries stay at Blair House while on official visits with the White House and is historically where the president-elect and first family reside prior to taking the oath of office.

This is a pole screen that is located in the Truman Study of Lee House, part of the four building complex known as Blair House. The screen is covered by a needlework cover that displays fruit in a basket. These screens were used to shield a person from the heat of a fireplace and could be adjusted to shield someone's face from direct heat. Blair House is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and is known as the President's Guest House. Visiting diplomats and dignitaries stay at Blair House while on official visits with the White House and is historically where the president-elect and first family reside prior to taking the oath of office.

This photograph captures the bust of Francis Preston Blair that is on display in the library of Blair House. Blair House is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and is known as the President's Guest House. Visiting diplomats and dignitaries stay at Blair House while on official visits with the White House and is historically where the president-elect and first family reside prior to taking the oath of office. Judge Blair, as he was informally known, purchased what became Blair House from Dr. Joseph Lovell in 1837. Gist Blair, Judge Blair's grandson, used the tops of the bookshelves and the walls in the library of Blair House to memorialize his ancestors.

This photograph by Bruce White shows a rim lock on one of the doors in the library of Blair House. It is an example of one of the surviving pieces of hardware in the house. The "keeper" on the door trim does not match the lock itself which suggests that a repair was needed. Blair House is located across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House and is known as the President's Guest House. Visiting diplomats and dignitaries stay at Blair House while on official visits with the White House and is historically where the president-elect and first family reside prior to taking the oath of office.

These two porcelain elephant candleholders are from China and are a part of the Blair House Collection. They reflect a desire in the late 18th century for goods from China. These pieces are some of the many porcelain objects that can be found in the Lee House Drawing Room. Lee House is one of four buildings that constitute the Blair House complex, which serves as the President's Guest House. Visiting diplomats and dignitaries stay at Blair House while on official visits with the White House and is historically where the president-elect and first family reside prior to taking the oath of office.