Second Floor Hall

The placement of second floor furnishings is not as clearly indicated in the inventory as it is on the first floor. Upstairs, the inventory listed furniture by type rather than by room as was done downstairs, so it is not known precisely what went where, and who slept in which bedchamber. The inventory lists only four pieces of case furniture on the upper floors. This may be explained by built-in cupboards and closets flanking the fireplaces in each second floor chamber.
 
The wood partition at the north end of the second floor represents an early modification, done several years after the Hands first occupied the mansion.
 
Two of the rooms have built-in closets, one for hanging clothes (on the hall side) and one with shelves (on the outside wall) for lying out and storing folded clothes. Although Edward Hand was 6 feet 4 inches tall, even he may have been unable to reach the high hooks. A long pole was likely utilized to place clothing on and off the hooks.
 
The second floor hall was a place for extra chairs and storage pieces. The circa 1810 Lancaster County mahogany chest of drawers placed in the hall would help to provide such extra storage and is an outstanding example of inlay and veneer work.

On the opposite wall hangs a reverse painting on glass of George Washington circa 1800. Many such copies of Gilbert Stuart’s original Athenaeum portrait were made in China for export to the American market as memorial items following Washington’s death in 1799.