Graphics and Calligraphy Office

Official invitations

White House dinner invitations have changed over the years. The earliest surviving examples come from John Adams, the first president to reside in the White House. His invitations were printed using letterpress, with the text: "The President of the United States, requests the Pleasure of 's Company to Dine, on_next at _ o'Clock." Blank spaces were left for the hand-written addition of "& Mrs. Adams" if the first lady would attend, along with each guest's name, the date, and the time. The penmanship used a flowing round hand style, a type of script taught in 18th-century writing manuals. In the early 1800s, it became standard to include a depiction of the United States coat of arms—an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows, with a striped shield and stars. By the mid-1800s, the more formal Great Seal of the United States appeared at the top of invitations, engraved in burnished gold, while the text was engraved in black script with a space for the guest's name. In 1880, President Rutherford B. Hayes ordered a new seal for the presidency, which initially appeared on official documents and the presidential flag. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt began using this presidential seal on stationery and invitations instead of the Great Seal. Since then, the invitation style has been standardized and has changed very little.