For my friends who like history and cooking comes The White House Cook Book (1900, 590 pages), a thick white tome that has seen several iterations over the decades. I'd bet some of you may have your own copy.
My book is from 1900, the fourth copyrighted version. The original came out in 1887. The co-authors listed are Hugo Ziemann, a White House steward; and Mrs. F.L. Gillette, whom the publishers note in their foreword "is no less proficient and capable, having made a life-long and thorough study of cookery and housekeeping, especially as adapted to the practical wants of average American homes."
This book actually has very little to do with the White House, despite Ziemann's later involvement (Fanny Gillette is the sole author and copyrighter of the original in 1887). My 1900 version has full-page black-and-white photos of Ida Saxton McKinley and Frances Folsom Cleveland, with sketched collages of other First Ladies. There is a drawing of the White House kitchen and a drawing of the Great State Dining Room.
There is no indication that any of the recipes came from a First Lady. The recipes are written in the short-hand style of the early century, with the implication that the cook already knows the methods.
What's particularly enjoyable about my copy are the little clippings scattered throughout the pages, left behind by a previous owner. The first, placed before the title page, is a perfectly trimmed notice on how to open a book. Tucked behind it is a folded letter, from 1904 on an editor's personalized stationery from The Delineator magazine, written in the spidery copperplate style that is nearly illegible. There are a few recipes on fragile paper, and a newspaper clipping of a baby's baptism. This book was a keepsake instead of used to cook from.
Here's an interesting article I found while I was researching this post: