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Mary Evans Seeley
is a collector, historian, lecturer, author and publisher of two books
about Christmas at the White House.She and her husband, Ronald,
have the most extensive collection of Presidential Christmas memorabilia
in the country.Parts of The Seeley Collection have been on
display at the White House on two occasions and have been on exhibit at
ten Presidential Libraries (Nixon, Reagan, Eisenhower, Bush, Truman,
Hoover, FDR, Carter, Johnson and Lincoln). Mrs. Seeley has lectured at
each of these libraries, the Fresno Metropolitan Museum, Festival
of Trees at the Orlando Museum of Art, Florida Republican
Convention, Omaha Leadership Conference, and at several luncheon
meetings and teas. The author was filmed for C-span while speaking
at the Richard Nixon Museum in 1996 and filmed for the Fox News Channel
at the Carter Library for the program “Christmas at the White House with
Laura Bush” aired in 2001. Three times she was a guest on James
Dobson’s radio broadcast for Focus on the Family.
Encouraged by White House Curator, Rex Scouten to write Season’s
Greetings from the White House, Mrs. Seeley has visited every
Presidential library, met Presidents Reagan and Bush, interviewed Laura
Bush, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, Rosalyn Carter, and Betty Ford,
received communications from Lady Bird Johnson and the Clinton White
House, and talked with First Family children, including John Coolidge.
Mary Seeley has interviewed the artists and photographers whose works
grace the Christmas cards and gifts of the presidents. Both
Hallmark and American Greetings cooperated in supplying the
behind-the-scenes details of producing these over the years. The
copious research so evident through the book’s pages came naturally to
Mrs. Seeley, who holds an M.A. degree in American History from the
University of Nebraska.
An entrepreneur, Mrs. Seeley is President of A Presidential Christmas
Corporation. To complement her books, Mary has created a collection of
patriotic and presidential ornaments, hand painted in the USA, Poland,
Austria and China. For an ever increasing number of clients, she
has developed custom ornaments to meet individual needs. Included
in this endeavor were Vice President and Mrs. Cheney, the
RNC, The Old Courthouse in St. Louis, the Broadmoor Hotel, Sons of
the Confederacy, the Sophienburg Museum, Mount Vernon, Valley Forge,
Heirloom Shop, Governor and Mrs. Riley, Sticks Furniture to name a few.
In 2008, she was asked to submit a prototype ornament for Laura Bush.
Her exclusive product, the Great Seal Rug appears as an accent in
American Embassies, Congressional and business offices and private homes
as well as political conventions and retail settings. The rug has
adorned the sets of television shows, such as Corey and The White House,
the Ellen Show, and the Beth Moore Bible Study series.
As a retailer Mrs. Seeley has participated in political conventions,
inaugural marketplaces, various Jr. League Shows, the Houston Nutcracker
Market and managed a successful internet store: www.whitehousechristmas.com before launching a second more
inclusive website:
www.whitehouseholidays.com
As a wholesaler, she has a showroom at Atlanta’s AmericasMart and a
booth at the New York Gift Fair. In the past, she has participated
in gift markets in Dallas, Chicago, Washington DC and Los Angeles
For three years, her books, rug, presidential gift prints and handmade
ornaments were featured in Frontgate’s Holiday catalog and website.
She has participated in Disney’s “Holidays Around the World” signing
books and sharing anecdotes with tourists.
Mary Seeley is married to Ronald Seeley, an Ophthalmologist in Tampa,
FL. They have four children and ten grandchildren.
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