[Horse drawn delivery wagon at entrance of White House kitchen]

Share

A delivery wagon drawn by horses waits at the service entrance to the White House kitchen, a working corner of the executive mansion that visitors rarely saw. The photograph dates to about 1904, during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, when the mansion was still supplied largely by horse-drawn traffic. Waldon Fawcett, the photographer credited with the copyright, documented Washington life in these years. The image is useful for seeing how the official residence actually ran, with its daily deliveries and staff needs handled at the back door, and how close the era was to the automobile's arrival on city streets.

More from the Horses collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.