Moffatt-Ladd House, Portsmouth, N.H.

Historic Wallpaper, 18th century

Courtesy The National Society of The Colonial Dames 
of America in the State of New Hampshire

Photography by Ralph Morang


The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of New Hampshire is engaged in a project to restore the parlor of the 1763 Moffatt-Ladd House in Portsmouth, NH, to its eighteenth-century appearance. Paint research has determined the original dark stone color of the woodwork and a 1912 letter records a family memory that the walls were papered with “heavy velvet [flock] paper with red lines.” No traces of wallpaper have been found in the room but removal of later shelf supports in an adjoining closet revealed an unexpected treasure trove of portions of two eighteenth-century wallpapers and a narrow border. Both have large motifs in red flock and each has a different background pattern printed in white on gray. An English tax stamp has been found on the back of one of the papers. 


We are hoping someone will recognize one of these distinctive background patterns that might lead us to a larger example that can be reproduced. Please contact moffattladd@gmail.com for more information.