The Graphics and Calligraphy Office (GCO) is a unit of the Social Office at the White House, the official residence of the president of the United States. Located in the East Wing, the Graphics and Calligraphy Office coordinates and produces all non-political social invitations, place cards, presidential proclamations, letters patent, military commissions, and official greetings.
Headed by the White House chief calligrapher, the Graphics and Calligraphy Office officially reports to the White House chief usher, but works more closely with the Social Office, which is headed by the White House social secretary, who is charged with the planning and coordination of official entertainment at the White House. [1]
The design of White House invitations has evolved over time. Dinner invitations going back to the administration of John Adams, the first president to live in the White House, are archived and have inspired the current invitations. In President Adams' day invitations were letterpress printed with the passage reading "The President of the United States, requests the Pleasure of ______'s Company to Dine, on_____next at ___ o'Clock." Space allowed for the hand-penned insertion of "& Mrs. Adams" if the First Lady were to attend, as well as individual guests' names, and the date and time. [2] A flowing round hand type of penmanship was used. This style of writing was found in writing manuals in the 18th century.
The custom of including a representation of the arms of the United States, by way of an eagle clutching an olive branch and arrows in its talons and a striped shield with stars, became standard on invitations in the early 19th century. By the mid-19th century, the more formal Great Seal of the United States was placed at the head of invitations. The text was engraved in black script, allowing space for the guest's name to be added individually. The Great Seal was engraved in burnished gold.
In 1880, President Rutherford B. Hayes had a new seal created for the presidency. The new Seal of the President of the United States shared similarities with the nation's Great Seal. Initially, the new presidential seal was applied to seal documents and the presidential flag. In 1902 President Theodore Roosevelt had the presidential seal applied to stationery and invitations in lieu of the Great Seal. The style of invitations became codified with few changes to the present.
While much of the work of the Graphics and Calligraphy Office is centered on social events, the office also engrosses official documents including military commissions, presidential awards, appointments, and proclamations.
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
The secretary of state is the head of the United States Department of State which is concerned with foreign affairs and is a member of the Cabinet of the United States. The secretary of state is analogous to a foreign minister in other countries.
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. The term "White House" is often used as a metonym for the president and his advisers.
A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, a wrapper for one such as a modern envelope, or the cover of a container or package holding valuables or other objects.
The Oval Office is the formal, working office space of the President of the United States. It is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C., part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States
The Seal of the President of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the president of the United States to the U.S. Congress, and is also used as a symbol of the presidency itself. The central design, based on the Great Seal of the United States, is the official coat of arms of the U.S. presidency and also appears on the presidential flag.
The Resolute desk is a nineteenth-century partners' desk used by several presidents of the United States in the White House Oval Office as the Oval Office desk. It was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880 and was built from the English oak timbers of the British Arctic exploration ship HMS Resolute. Franklin Roosevelt requested the addition of a door with the presidential seal to conceal his leg braces. Many presidents since Hayes have used the desk at various locations in the White House.
The East Wing is a part of the White House Complex. It is a two-story structure east of the White House Executive Residence, the home of the president of the United States. While the West Wing generally serves the president's executive office staff, the East Wing serves as office space for the first lady and her staff, including the White House social secretary, White House Graphics and Calligraphy Office and correspondence staff. The East Wing also includes the visitors' entrance and the East Colonnade, a corridor connecting the body of the East Wing to the residence. Along the corridor is the White House theater, also called the Family theater. Social and touring visitors to the White House usually enter through the East Wing.
The Yellow Oval Room is an oval room located on the south side of the second floor in the White House, the official residence of the President of the United States. First used as a drawing room in the John Adams administration, it has been used as a library, office, and family parlor. Today the Yellow Oval Room is used for small receptions and for greeting heads of states immediately before a State Dinner.
A state banquet is an official banquet hosted by the head of state in his or her official residence for another head of state, or sometimes head of government, and other guests. Usually as part of a state visit or diplomatic conference, it is held to celebrate diplomatic ties between the host and guest countries. Depending on time of the day, it may be referred to as a state dinner or state lunch. The size varies, but the numbers of diners may run into the hundreds.
The White House chief usher is the head of household staff and operations at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States of America. Timothy Harleth was appointed the current chief usher by President Donald Trump on June 23, 2017.
The White House social secretary is responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of official social events at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States.
The title "Mr. President" (m.) or Madam President (f.) may apply to a person holding the title of president, or presiding over certain other governmental bodies.
The White House chief calligrapher is responsible for the design and execution of all social and official documents at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States.
The Seal of the Vice President of the United States is used to mark correspondence from the U.S. vice president to other members of government, and is also used as a symbol of the vice presidency. The central design, directly based on the Seal of the President of the United States, is the official coat of arms of the U.S. vice presidency and also appears on the vice presidential flag.
On 16 October 1901, shortly after moving into the White House, President Theodore Roosevelt invited his adviser, the African American spokesman Booker T. Washington, to dine with him and his family; it provoked an outpouring of condemnation from southern politicians and press. This reaction affected subsequent White House practice and no other African American was invited to dinner for almost thirty years.
In 1929, United States First Lady Lou Hoover invited Jessie De Priest, wife of Chicago congressman Oscar De Priest, to the traditional tea by new administrations for congressional wives at the White House. Oscar De Priest, a Republican, was the first African American elected to Congress in the 20th century and the first elected outside the South.
Historical coats of arms of the U.S. states date back to the admission of the first states to the Union. Despite the widely accepted practice of determining early statehood from the date of ratification of the United States Constitution, many of the original colonies referred to themselves as states shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed on 4 July 1776. Committees of political leaders and intellectuals were established by state legislatures to research and propose a seal and coat of arms. Many of these members were signers of the Articles of Confederation, Declaration of Independence, and United States Constitution. Several of the earliest adopted state coats of arms and seals were similar or identical to their colonial counterparts.
There are two National Seals of the Republic of China (中華民國國璽), namely the Seal of the Republic of China (中華民國之璽) and the Seal of Honour (榮典之璽). The Seal of the Republic of China is the official seal of the state. The Seal of Honour is used by the head of state in the conferring of honours.
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