Historic piece of doorway transom molding from the White House, measuring 26″ x 8.75″ x 3″, featuring two reeded sections with a cornice-type edge. Door casings in this style can be seen in numerous images of the White House interior taken during the first half of the 20th century, situated around doorways in the Green Room, Red Room, Blue Room, and elsewhere. This piece is coated with several layers of paint, many of which are cracked and chipping; the outermost layer is a grayish off-white, which covers various hues of beige, bright white, gold, and light green. Interestingly, an examination of the paint layers reveals that the two reeded sections were once painted gold—a quality which would be reproduced in the Kennedy-era Blue Room. In good to very good condition, with age-related cracking and losses to paint, two nail holes at center, and a few annotations. Originates from the Knipp & Co. 'contractor's salvage' resulting from their work in the renovation of the White House during the Truman administration. Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from historian and collector Wayne Smith, author of White House Renovation Souvenirs. Also includes a signed hardcover copy of the book.
The Baltimore-based architectural woodworking firm Knipp & Co. was chosen as a subcontractor for President Harry S. Truman's renovation and restoration of the White House, which took place between 1948 and 1952. Their work is discussed in the article 'White House 'Contractor's Salvage' Revived' by Barbara D. McMillan: "Knipp & Company was very much on the scene during the dismantling of the house. It hauled away moldings, architectural elements, wood floors, and even lath under the plaster for the general contractor, who began work on December 13, 1949...It was President Truman’s stated intention to save 'all the doors, mantels, mirrors and things of that sort so that they will go back just as they were.' Architect Lorenzo S. Winslow also 'appreciated the old, and from the outset urged the careful conservation and reuse of paneling, window sash, molding and doors.' These intentions, however, were not fully realized. Some of the wood was damaged upon removal, and some was stylistically inappropriate as Winslow tried to adapt the White House interior to the time of its original architect, James Hoban...Franklin Knipp, who became president of the firm in 1964, stressed that most of the removed millwork from the White House arrived to them unmarked, with nothing to indicate where it had come from, unless it was from a 'primary' room (a State Room) or one that was to be reconstructed, such as the State Dining Room."
As the White House renovations came to a close, the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion, with the approval of President Truman, established a 'souvenir program' to dispose of excess raw materials removed from the Executive Mansion, such as bricks, nails, plaster, and wooden relics. McMillan reports: "White House moldings that were not reused in the White House reconstruction but left stored with the Knipp firm were originally intended by the firm to be returned to the White House, until at last Major General Glen E. Edgerton, the government’s representative on the work, ordered Knipp to stop bringing back the old wood." This 'contractor's salvage' subsequently remained in Franklin Knipp's custody for decades; he subsequently offered them as gifts to friends, and repurposed items for use in his own home on Maryland's Gibson Island.
