Yet another endorsement for First House

Bill Martin, Director of the Valentine Richmond History Center, said of First House, “We have been neighbors for 200 hundred years!  Alexander Parris’s neoclassical designs for the Wickham-Valentine House in 1812 and the Executive Mansion in 1813 represent the high aspirations of their builders for the growing Commonwealth.  Our houses and our neighborhood have seen many changes over the last two centuries.  While at the Valentine we document these changes through our exhibitions and collections, Mary Theobald’s new book helps us see these changes more personally through the eyes of Virginia’s First Families and their life at the Mansion.”

The folks at the Valentine provided a good deal of assistance to us when we were searching for old photos, invitations, Christmas cards, and objects to illustrate First House. They provided pictures of their collection of First Ladies’ inaugural gowns and antique campaign buttons too. All of us who worked on this book are grateful for their help.