The Namesakes Challenge
Saturday, December 19, 2015 – Last week Spectator colleague Mark McNeil came by my desk to suggest some visual sparkle to a quiz he was writing on Hamilton history. The plan started out as a game board but got a bit carried away in details and technicalities. So we opted for a frame which you see above and can be read in its entirety here.
In the top left hand corner is the founder of Hamilton, George Hamilton (1788–1836). He died just before the advent of photography, and since there exists no oil or ink portrait designed from life his likeness will forever remain unknown. While several in the past have come up with their own depictions of the city’s founder, I made the cheeky decision to portray him in the likeness of the well tanned, devilishly handsome Hollywood actor George Hamilton, which I also included in this past civic day holiday editorial cartoon.
If you like this walk down Hamilton’s memory lane then you’ll be interested to see my recent homage to the paper placemat.