Description
First edition of The White House Library: A Short-Title List, inscribed by Lady Bird Johnson to Bill Benton, member of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House.
Octavo, [2], 219pp, [3]. Blue cloth, gilt lettering on spine. No additional printings noted. Includes the publisher’s dust jacket, touch of wear along top edge, a near fine example.
Inscribed on the half title: “For Bill Benton / with my warm appreciation for all you have done to enhance the beauty of this house – / Lady Bird Johnson.”
William “Bill” Benton (1900-1973) was an American advertising executive, publisher, and politician. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, continuing the advisory restoration and preservation work begun during Jacqueline Kennedy’s White House restoration project. Prior to his time on the White House committee, Benton served as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs under President Harry S. Truman, was appointed to the U.S. Senate from Connecticut in 1949, and later served as U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO.
