I was feeling uninspired for this week’s edition of Friday Photo, so I did a quick Google Image Search for Hammond-Harwood House. These vintage postcards turned up, and I spent a significant amount of time marveling at how much our ballroom has changed. There’s no date on the postcards, but they’re definitely mid-20th century. Many of the pieces of furniture shown (and those amazing gold silk valances) are still in our collection, but the way in which they’re displayed is so different. The postcards show a ballroom that is beautiful and full of ornate objects, but looks untouched. Today, we try to give visitors to the House a better idea of how the room could actually have been used, with chairs pulled up to a set tea table and music books open on stands. Although I would be tempted to pull those gold valances out of storage, if they wouldn’t just blend in with the yellow paint now on the walls.