Hamlet, William, the Younger

Introduction:

A versatile artist like his namesake father, WILLIAM HAMLET the YOUNGER (1779-1815) produced profiles on paper, card, flat and convex glass. Unlike his father, he also painted coloured profile miniatures, used ivory, and painted profiles en grisaille, the best of which are exceptional.

Noteworthy too is the recent discovery of his ethnic background.

In a September 1785 issue of ARIS' BIRMINGHAM GAZETTE, William Hamlet Snr enigmatically describes himself "From Abroad...[and also]...the most singular artist in the Kingdom". 2020 research discovered his singularity was likely due to his Afro-American or Afro-Caribbean origins.

In a chance discovery, the 28th of March 1829 issue of FREEDOM'S JOURNAL, the first Afro-American newspaper, described in an article how British subject George Hamlet, when travelling from his New York home, was imprisoned in Norfolk, Virginia as he lacked documentation proving him a free man in the slave-owning state.

Revealingly, the article continues "...the father of the individual is Mr. William HAMLET...a man of colour who is profile painter to his Britannic Majesty and...Royal Family, and his mother is a white subject of the same government".

The temporarily gaoled George Hamlet appears to have been the son of William Hamlet Jnr, as the Federal Census of 1850 records 47-year-old English-born George Hamlet a 'musician' and a 'mulatto' - i.e. mixed race - living in Urbana, Ohio. His age corrresponds to the birth of William Hamlet Jnr's son George in Bath, in 1803.

The above information gives credence to the theory that 'William Hamlet, a Negro' baptised without parents or sponsors in Bath Abbey on the 11th of November 1772, later became profilist William Hamlet the Elder (ca. 1749 - 1822).

Baptised in Salisbury in December 1779, William Hamlet Jnr was the eldest of 5 children born there between 1779-92 to Elizabeth née Morgan (1761-1832) and William Hamlet Snr. Of Hamlet Jnr's siblings, only sister Elizabeth (1788-n/k) is known to have reached adulthood. A lone record of her as a 'spinster' living with the family of a Salisbury stationer appears in the 1841 Census.

In an August 1788 advertisement in the SALISBURY and WINCHESTER JOURNAL, William Hamlet Snr proudly described himself "...a self-taught PAINTER". Doubtless he tutored his namesake son. By 1801 Hamlet Jnr probably considered himself sufficiently schooled, as aged 21, he relocated to Bath and married Salisbury-born Jane Fox (1778-1859) there in the August of that year.

Hamlet Jnr would have encountered considerable competition in Bath and not just from itinerant profilists during 'The Season'. Two well-patronised artists, Charles Rosenberg (ca. 1745-1844) and Jacob Spornberg (1768-after 1840) had been established in Bath since 1790. Furthermore, McKechnie records Rosenberg the most prolific profilist of the day.

Though probably working from the time of his marriage in 1801, Hamlet Jnr's first recorded extant work appears to be a bust-sized profile on convex glass dated 1806. Also painted that year, and likely commemorating the sitter's short-lived marriage, is a full-length study on flat glass of the 2nd Lord Orford (1752-1822) and wife Catherine Chamberlayne (1758-1807). The work bears a Hamlet Jnr handwritten trade label and records his initial address of 9 Union Passage.

In 1806, he is also made a Freemason, joining the 'Lodge of Virtue', and perhaps the same year, makes the short move to 17 Union Passage where, joined by his father, both worked until 1810, after which they relocated to 12 Union Street until 1814. With 2 shared printed 'WILLIAM HAMLET' trade labels, attributing works to either man can be problematic, as Hamet Jnr's developing style closely resembled his father's. However, only Hamlet Jnr painted bronze highlighted silhouettes, coloured profile miniatures, drew en grisaille or used ivory.

Only 2 newspaper adverts for Hamlet Jnr have been discovered. In the BATH CHRONICLE in December 1807, he advertised "...profiles on glass,ivory and paper...".  Mention is also made of a "...PATENT MACHINE by which the most perfect likenesses imaginable are taken".  Additionally, Hamlet Jnr "...refrained from making any addition to the usual price of half-a-crown each likeness, although he flatters himself from their superiority, a double charge would not be deemed exorbitant".

By July 1812, a double charge was no longer deemed excessive. Returning, albeit temporarily, to his birthplace, the SALISBURY and WINCHESTER JOURNAL advertised Hamlet Jnr taking "...apartments for a short time at Mr. Parsons, Catherine-Street, where he proposes taking profiles on ivory, glass or paper in colours or black; also in bronze in a superior style...from 5s to £2.2s. Old profiles...accurately copied". Possibly the apartments were home to Hamlet Jnr's parents. Recent research (see William Hamlet the Elder) suggests Hamlet Snr maintained his lodgings in Salisbury's Catherine Street and, arguably, only worked in Bath during 'The Season'.

Hamlet Jnr's own last abode was 2 Old Bond Street, Bath. Occupying the address at the latest by early 1815, he had by then, as McKechnie states, "developed into a highly skilled artist". Two printed trade labels for the address advertise Hamlet's terms as - profiles on black from 2s.6d to 1 guinea; coloured 10s.6d to 3 guineas. Also as a sideline "Prepared Ivories for Miniature Painting and Miniature Frames..." were for sale.

Having honed his artistry, Hamlet Jnr appeared firmly established in Bath. Between 1802-14, wife Jane gave birth to 3 sons and 3 daughters, by November 1815, she was 6 months pregnant with another son. William Hamlet Snr had meanwhile placed a listing with the printers for the forthcoming 1816 BATH GUIDE, recording himself at 12 Union Street.

The shock therefore would have been considerable when William Hamlet Jnr died on Monday the 5th of November. Grief over his son's demise was thought to have explained the absence of datable profiles painted by William Hamlet Snr between 1816 and his own death, aged 73, in 1822. However, a group of trade labelled works by Hamlet Snr, all bearing the date 'July 1820' in a contemporary hand, were sold by LYON & TURNBULL Auction Rooms 15th of November 2023, suggesting Hamlet Snr was still actively employed at that date.

William Hamlet Jnr's obituary is recorded in the BATH CHRONICLE of the 9th of November 1815: "on Monday last died Mr Wm. Hamlet, profile painter, at No.2 Old Bond Street in his 36th year".

Revised 19 July 2023 (Brian Wellings, with research assistance from Cynthia McKinley)

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