Art: Mice in the Attic

Harry Truman, an enthusiastic amateur of U.S. history, gave out a gloomy report last week on the state of the White House furniture. In a letter to Junius B. Wood, an authority on antiques, Truman wrote:

"It is tragic what has happened to the wonderful old pieces of furniture which were bought by the early Presidents. Except for the Blue Room suite, there is not a single stick of that original furniture left, and the two clocks [the Minerva, in the Blue Room, and the Hannibal, in the Green Room], along with a number of clocks in the various bedrooms, are the...

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