Garage Sale: The 1882 White House Public Auction

For more than 200 years the White House had been home to presidents, site of official functions, and of course a center of governmental work of the Executive branch. It comes as no surprise then that the furniture, floors, carpets, windows - nearly everything, in fact - has been replaced a few times. And in 1882, a “fancy” but unexpected president decided to get rid of old furniture the old fashioned way: by selling it at public auction.
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This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
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All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
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Script by JCG
#history #thehistoryguy #POTUS

[@doggedout]

"All of these things should really be kept on the floor." - History Cat

[@BFDT-4]

Best reply for today!

[@oneminuteofmyday]

I had to back up at the beginning so I could actually listen to what he was saying. The first time was spent watching the cat. lol

[@BlueSkyScholar]

"Something broken? Ask the dog." -Cat (George Carlin)

[@allendyer5359]

13:13 "what are you doing?" Ah don't go back & look at :46 but me finding biggest thing in your arsenal to tip over - kaboom.

[@seanwalsh9605]

@@allendyer5359 haven't even gotten that far. I noticed the cat immediately then saw the shell moving and went immediately to the comments 😆

[@Silverado138]

Thanks for having the cat part at the end. Definitely put a smile on my face and hopefully set the mood for my day

[@factfanboi8014]

More history cat outtakes are history that deserves to be remembered as well!!

[@jefflawrentz1624]

I enjoyed this episode very much. It’s too bad those regulations weren’t in place when Truman took Teddy Roosevelts Bison mantle for his own home and replaced it with a copy. You did an excellent job.

[@soxbigdog]

Charles Guiteau was a strange guy, but he used the doctor's mishandling of Garfield's wounds to basically say that even though he shot Garfield, the doctor's killed him.

[@2trdmustanggtfordf1hdsgsfa80]

When I was a GI, I was part of a small team that built a Vietnam display for Veterans Day at the Reagan library. Took us a couple trips with setup and tear down. Anyhow, the museum folks gave us a personal tour of the basement stuff (for lack of a better term). The items we saw, and some of the stories of how they came to be were absolutely fascinating. That was many years ago, but I still remember the vaults of film, video, audio, etc… as well as some of the gifts presented to Reagan (by other countries and dignitaries) during his time as President. It’s amazing but understandable how the early establishment failed to realize the significance and reverence that future generations would hold concerning simple items.

[@rachaelsdaddontdrink]

My family visited the Eisenhower center, 1971... The "Library" was under construction, most of the artifacts were in a smaller building onsite... Amazing items; a jeweled golden hilted sword presented by the Pasha of Morocco; a jeweled silver tea set from the Shah of Iran; etc... Most of the loot was collected when he was in charge of SHAEF, and when he was in charge of the US Army, not when he was President... Cool trip...

[@ONLYGOODleftistisaDEADleftist]

"What are you doing?" Apparently, the cat is auditing the History Guy's possessions for auction.

[@stevepeyton9073]

Being photo bombed by The History Cat is priceless Keep up the good work my friend

[@jean-lucpicard3012]

Presidential rummage sale.... I love the sound of that

[@zaxpage9003]

If someone had a time machine, this auction would have been the place to be.

[@mrbyzantine0528]

Just imagine going back there with 1000 dollars of today's money and seeing what you could buy

[@kayzeaza]

I’d go back to hear what Chester A. Arthur sounds like

[@DonaldWMeyers-dwm]

Elberon, where Garfield died, is pronounced "L-Berr-on." There's also a great story about how the people of Elberon built a spur from the train station to the house where Garfield stayed so he could be moved comfortably. The ties from that spur were used to build a tea house there, and there's a monument where the house stood.

[@Sandyg1961]

The cat pert near knocked the bomb off the shelf there behind you. Next post titled “Cat makes history of The History Guy”. But, seriously, these vids are so captivating. Keep it up.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

LOL it is not a live round.

[@HM2SGT]

I think that’s Lucky, and perhaps he’s looking for the portrait of dear, departed Pookie?

[@jodyberryhill4564]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Haha! Well it should be! Would add some suspense to an awesome video!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

@@HM2SGT that is Pocky, who sadly never met Pookie.

[@skussy69]

Did you just call a shell a bomb. On a history channel..?

[@artkitzmiller957]

13:11 Gave me a great idea for a THG video! I would love to learn about the history of cats in the old west. It is history that deserves to be remembered!

[@BFDT-4]

And for many people, the 1950s and 60s was the time when all the early furnishings of pre-war US were thrown away in order to get the new mid-century and later "modern" furnishings. And that was superceded by a return to clunky, and then finally to the IKEA style of KD furnishings, with their sagging shelves and peeling "veneers". Lovely. If you have something older, even if it's mid-century, do not modernize it, do not chuck it, but rather be sure it is preserved for those who want it.

[@zenolachance1181]

I was born in the 50s and raised in the 60s and we had a beautiful porcelain dining room table with a slide out and when my father redecorated he threw it in the barn where the chickens perched on it until it was ruined when the roof started leaking. I've always looked for a replica of that table and I have never found one

[@bonniekane8547]

Thank you, History Guy! This was the best episode ever!!! It would be great if you could do one on the Truman restoration, although it might take 2 episodes. When the engineers came in to examine the condition of the house, after the piano incident, they said that the White House was only still standing “out of force of habit”. Please look into other White House redecorations and other White House related subjects. People don’t know enough about the building and they don’t teach it in school. Thank you!!! Great job!!!!

[@russbear31]

I live close to the Truman Library. They have bits and pieces of the White House on display from the restoration. The most fascinating is a huge wooden beam from the floor of the East Room that was badly scorched during the 1812 British fire.

[@mudgebauer]

what piano incident¿

[@bonniekane8547]

One day Margaret Truman was playing her grand piano and one of the legs broke the floor and sank into the subfloor. They call in engineers and that was their comment at the end of the inspection, that the building was only still standing by force of habit. It was like Swiss cheese. Over the years all the structural supports had been drilled through for electrical and telephone wires with zero coordination or documentation. They ended up having to gut the entire White House and rebuild the entire thing as a modern building with steel girders and modern plumbing and electricity. Harry, Bess, and Margaret lived at the Blair house (I think) for quite a while. It was a huge ordeal, involving Congress and lots of money. The history of the White House is amazing.

[@gapratt4955]

During the Clinton administration what was to have been routine maintenance became the need to completely strip the white house of it's way to many coats of paint. Apparently the White House had been painted so often that the new paint would not even adhere, something like over 30 some odd coats of paint. Also at that time much of the sandstone was repaired, requiring stone masons to be brought over from Scotland since folks with the needed skills could not be found anywhere else.

[@seanwalsh9605]

@@bonniekane8547 sounds like many row homes in Baltimore. Our house barely passes modern inspection with holes drilled in structure supports for electrical.

[@stevedietrich8936]

One of the History Cats makes an appearance by photobombing THG. Well played, History Cat!

[@seanwalsh9605]

And shaking that shell, though 😳

[@christopherlynch3314]

It's great to see History Cat!

[@GringoLoco1]

Interesting episode with bonus History Cat appearances 🤩

[@BlueBaron3339]

The case of Garfield - the President, not the cat - and his assassination more by the doctors who treated him than by the assassin who shot him - has been the subject of more than one serious historical work. Difference is they didn't *want* to kill him. It's a late case of an old adage regarding the Middle Ages: the poor died of hunger and the rich died from medical treatment.

[@orbyfan]

Candice Millard's book "Destiny of the Republic" (2012) goes into great detail about President Garfield's suffering at the hands of his doctors, which I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy.

[@BlueBaron3339]

@@orbyfan Apt title. Garfield, a progressive, dies horribly and we get a patronage hack in Arthur as the episode makes clear. The irony is that it took the assassination of McKinley to get the brilliant progressive, TR. More than a bit of symbolism that TR removes the ornate glass wall Arthur had installed 😉

[@terryray8370]

I agree! It's crazy how much damage doctors really did to a person until they finally learned to wash their hands!

[@lizj5740]

@@terryray8370 See THG's video on handwashing: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bF6vfGWrfrVpmcU. (It starts at 1:52.)

[@dirtcop11]

When you said Truman gutted the White House, he really gutted it. He even removed the floors, walls, and ceilings.

[@danielulz1640]

Many of these items were in the process of removing themselves.

[@tygrkhat4087]

The White House was in sorry shape by the 1940s. The skeleton of the building was pretty sound, but the interior was rather degraded. Much of the rubble from the WH was used as fill and is now covered by a baseball diamond.

[@keitholding8541]

"80 pairs of pants - a ridiculous luxury for the time". I wonder how many pairs would be considered a ridiculous luxury nowadays 😊

[@skussy69]

Given that humans still have the same number of legs today as they did then, 80

[@eliscanfield3913]

lol, The only reason I may've bought 80 pairs of pants over the last decade is because we have fast-growing spawn, and it doesn't help that the 5yo is an Entling whose clothing size often overlaps her 8yo brother's!

[@larrylaffer3246]

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! That's right this Sunday "and Monday"! The White House is having a Fire Sale and everything must go! 🛋️, drapes, linens, light fixtures, and more all must be sold at prices so low it's insane! No reasonable offer rejected! All major credit cards accepted! So come come Sunday, Sunday, Sunday "and Monday" to the White House and find something for you today!

[@briangarrow448]

How often have items from our past been thrown out by the new occupants of these buildings? Far too often I imagine. Not just the White House, but Governor Mansions across the country and homes from early pioneers. I hope that I have taught my children to look closely at anything older- the items may have a history worth remembering.

[@ALWilde-LibertyTree]

I used to clean and fix mobile homes it always amazed me how much family history ppl leave behind I'm sitting on a bunch of old military paperwork and photos. History deserves to be remembered even by a janitor who never knew the family

[@quillmaurer6563]

It's a common trend of things being discarded at a time when they were worthless, things that would have been far more valuable later on. All the old muscle cars, really any cars actually, that were crushed when their useful lives were considered over that now would be worth quite a lot.

[@icarus_falling]

love TheHistoryCat in the background lol

[@philipcallicoat3801]

Kitty is photo shopping you HG😂!!! Another excellent job 👍....

[@eliscanfield3913]

Nah, photobombing!

[@keithweiss7899]

Certainly a different time period. Sheep used to keep the grass cut there.

[@HM2SGT]

Cats: proof the Earth is not flat - if it were they would have knocked everything off by now!🐈😻

[@stevedietrich8936]

Truth. They could easily avoid knocking things off, but they find it amusing.

[@skussy69]

That's actually the most concrete round earth evidence I've seen

[@clarehennessey3653]

Gotta love a man that loves cats!

[@TABrown-xh7xc]

The history cat wants a video of the great cats in US history.

[@roxannaweaver2155]

I remember reading about this quite a while ago. I don't remember all the details of that article but it was definitely not as detailed as you have presented. It was interesting to hear about the Republican convention of the time and see all the photographs as well. I enjoyed this.

[@terryray8370]

I thoroughly enjoyed this segment, especially at the end when your tuxedo cat stole the show! Funny enough, my cat had chosen that moment to do something that always bugs me: lay on my hand and mouse! So glad you left that snippet in!

[@THEScottCampbell]

LOVE THE CAT! He makes a great co-host and sidekick!

[@ladysylvia4018]

Love this story! I wondered how some historic homes claimed this or that was originally in the White House. Maybe they went to that garage sale!😂 We love cats (ours are Sphynx) and they walk amongst our antiques and never knock down any! Love your channel!!

[@wingman5985]

I like the new troublemaker too!

[@Aetherometricist]

"What are you doing?" Cat owners everywhere.

[@ddpsf]

I can't believe they removed the Tiffany glass after only 20 or so years. They sold it as boxes of glass for $275! Crazy how they would dismantle such a piece in such an ad hoc way.

[@GermanShepherd1983]

Republicans

[@johngreen3543]

TR hated the glass and had it removed.

[@JWRogersPS]

Fashion changes. When TR came to office, victorian was considered old fashioned and ugly, and the WH was remodeled in a fashionable "colonial" style.

[@evensgrey]

Tiffany glass wasn't anything like as valuable then as it is now. At the time, it was unfashionable and many people were unloading it. Some very lucky people bought it cheap and got wonderful pieces that are now seen as wonderful. But in the 50's, Art Deco as a whole was likely to mostly just make people recall the bad times when so much of it was made.

[@pamelamays4186]

History Tuxedo Cat is typically curious. My Tuxedo Cat Ace is always interested in what's going on around him.

[@donschneider7252]

Fun to see your cat! They are a joy to watch...

[@theCAPOSHOW]

Love the videos dedicated to politics in the last half of the 19th century. Such a fascinating point of study

[@ProperLogicalDebate]

0:47 Looks like the cat brushed up against the light replica ammunition. Shades of a Ghost Army. LoL

[@skussy69]

That's not a light round or a replica, just had the powder/charge removed

[@lizj5740]

@@skussy69 It is a blow-up replica, as THG has told us many times.

[@RicMoxley]

enjoyed the cat-astrophic ending.

[@WendyLouPollock]

Love the History Cat!

[@rickharold7884]

Wow that’s amazing. I can’t imagine how much Lincolns trouser would go for today!

[@joereeves8259]

This is why I love this channel, thank you!!!

[@KoolKman]

Teddy loves the History cat!

[@GOGOSLIFE]

Another one upstaged by their cat, lol!

[@ronfullerton3162]

The cat was not impressed by being upstaged by "staff".

[@joezeigler1064]

Cat cameo! Purrrrfect

[@baire702]

Another great video! Love your co-star! LOL!

[@LadyMarie880]

I so enjoyed this episode, my house was built 1860 by a Gentleman from Maine. and married a Lady from The South. The fire places and woodwork still remains .

[@clevermcgenericname891]

Only the very best of KZbinrs have random attention seeking cats wondering their sets.

[@aymann7234]

I'm still impressed by the eighty pairs of pants at the beginning.

[@kayzeaza]

I’m glad you did an episode about Chester A. Arthur! I’ve just been getting into learning more about him!

[@thomasmurray3212]

Always interesting! I really enjoyed this video.

[@marknc9616]

That cat could have saved Abraham Lincoln's trousers. Just saying.

[@albertwells8503]

Thank you so much for this episode. As an auctioneer in business for more than 50 years, I was completely fascinated by this. And since I love American history, that doubled the experience.

[@Wensday-Adams]

I found this very relevant considering the current issues items being removed from the White House. Also love the clip with the cat being a cat. It's good to know I'm not the only one who deals with cats being the star of videos and zoom interactions. =)

[@FoxMacLeod2501]

The History Cat! Thanks for yet another wonderfully enjoyable and eminently watchable video!

[@detroitredneckdetroitredne6674]

Spectacular history lessons sir I thank you kindly you taught us what they did not teach us in school careful therefore the cat has access to explosives Lol

[@farmergirlangie3469]

Oh wow, a cameo by one of th HG kitties. Love it

[@opathe2nd973]

Brilliant as usual!!! Do you ever sleep? You're amazing in the history you bring to us. Never stop.

[@dannyjones3840]

Hell, 80 pairs of pants are ridiculous at any time lol!

[@tygrkhat4087]

"What are you doing?" "Lookin' around."

[@markbyrum4743]

Great vid! Keep at it!

[@TheOnBoardLife]

Chester Arthur is my favorite historical president, and I may be the only living person who has read all three of the biographies written about him. Most people consider him a middle of the road president as far as historical importance. I see much more.

[@diannhall7564]

Thank you for a fascinating look at past presidents. Things have changed so much since the end of the nineteenth century!

[@jwrappuhn71]

Excellent vid Sir.

[@jwdernehl]

Love the cat! You are ok too.

[@steadyashegoes7763]

00:47: a cat nearly blows up The History Guy. Lol Love your content, THG.

[@pushing2throttles]

Love the cats cameo at the end! Encore! Encore!

[@mattnicholson2364]

I really like how you pull from Ken Burns and pan over photos, giving the feel of video, and keeping the viewers attention. Well done.

[@stephenkolenda]

Cat: get out of my room human I'm in charge here

[@robbiedkat]

Gotta say we both gasped and jumped a bit at 46 seconds in when your kitty almost knocked over the shell behind you, stay safe

[@Goatcha_M]

Owning 80 pairs of pants is a ridiculous luxury for any time.

[@J.A.Smith2397]

Outstanding show my main history man

[@dedrakuhn6103]

This was the begining of the huge balloons that advertised (Major Presidents Day SALE!)

[@gaslitworldf.melissab2897]

Eighty pairs of pants? I'm not sure I own 80 pcs of clothing. Lol I just don't need that much.

[@scronx]

Interesting and fun!

[@tincupnickleboythe1st700]

I did enjoy this !!!

[@dgax65]

I found this very interesting. A sentiment evidently not held by the History Cat.

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

Back in the Saddle Again

[@wendychavez5348]

History Cat is an essential part of any video he (she?) appesars in!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

He, this one is Pocky. Always appropriately dressed in tuxedo.

[@032319581]

Extremely interesting!

[@frankgulla2335]

Fascinating story about the white house and Chester A Arthur.

[@bullettube9863]

Ironically Arthur championed civil service reform and an end to the spoil system in addition to fully funding the Navy and other projects to improve harbors and roads. Incredibly America at this time continuously ran budget surpluses partly because of taxes from the Civil War and from the high protective tariffs applied to imports. Today new presidents have a choice of historical furniture to chose from when decorating, and what gets replaced goes into special storage where it can be repaired or restored for future use. The next time the White House was remodeled was when Truman was president who said living there was a hazard he was not going to endure. The whole building was gutted and they built the massive bomb shelter under it.

[@sandybarnes887]

I don't mean to alarm you but there was some weird goings on behind you during the beginning. Almost a cat-astrophe

[@dennismason3740]

My favorite part is where the cat tears up the presidential furniture.

[@GermanShepherd1983]

The History Cat should be mandatory.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

There is quite often one in the room. They visit regularly for the Friday live chats at TheHistoryGuyGuild.Locals.com

[@trunkage]

80 sets of pants is a ridiculous luxury for THAT time? I say for this time too

[@MarshOakDojoTimPruitt]

thanks

[@garycorrick]

Great story. Love the cat.

[@mattnicholson2364]

This episode was very well done, above even your rather high standard.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Thank you!

[@-jeff-]

I took a tour of the White House in the 1980's just after another "renovation" by Nancy Reagan. I can attest to how much it felt like a museum more than anything else.

[@tygrkhat4087]

Well, what the public is allowed to see is more museum like. We can't really attest to the living spaces.

[@-jeff-]

@@tygrkhat4087 Agreed. There seemed to be as many guys in suits talking into their cufflinks then there were us tourists. Yeah I'd liked a tour upstairs, but us regular folk weren't about to get one.

[@bigsexymuthashutyomouth2546]

As a history buff, I could sit and watch this guy for days!!!

[@dennisboulais7905]

Have to watch your cat like a hawk! My two young cats are terrors. They get into EVERYTHING! They try toi go places that leave me thinkng "Hey dummy what the heck are you going to do if you get there?".

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Pocky is a scamp.

[@benjaminsnell3393]

Someone probably has a table or chair Abraham Lincoln used in their living room right now.

[@BasicDrumming]

I Love History!

[@jonathanwetherell3609]

Times change, what is acceptable in one era is not in another. What is the required social norm now has not always been so and will not in the future. Pity that so many do not see that, or they would be more understanding of "other".

[@CorvetteBill364]

I loved your audience. He was attentive LOL I am a cat guy so I too enjoyed that video LOL

[@StoicHistorian]

Would have loved to have been at this garage sale as a reseller and antique collector

[@grimreaper6557]

I would love to find those treasures =)