William Hamlin

William Hamlin
ca. 1869
Born	15 October 1772 Providence, Rhode Island
Died	22 November 1869
Resting place	Providence, Rhode Island
Nationality	American
Education	elementary
Occupation	businessman
Known for	engraver
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Bowen (m.4/2/1810)
Children	six
Parent(s)	Samuel Hamlin & Thankful Ely

Business card, 131 S. Water St, ca. 1850

Hamlin 1826 telescope admission ticket purchased by those interested in using it.

William Hamlin (1772–1869) was an American entrepreneur and the first engraver for the state of Rhode Island. In one of his engravings, he published the first views of Providence, Rhode Island. He did a variety of technical etchings that were membership certificates, bank notes, bookplates, portraits and Providence buildings. He is well known for portrait engravings of George Washington.

Hamlin was involved in the manufacture of music instruments such as flutes, violins, and fifes. He made sextants, quadrants, and refractor telescopes. He built the first telescope in the United States that was available to use by the public for astronomy.

Early life[]

Hamlin was the fifth in direct paternal line from Giles Hamlin, a pioneer of Middletown, Connecticut.^[1] He was born on October 15, 1772, in Providence, Rhode Island, and lived there all his life.^[2] His parents, Capt. Samuel & Thankful Ely, married in 1771. Their other children (and Hamlin's siblings) were Samuel Ely (b.1774), Ann (b.1776), Richard Ely (b. 1779), Mehitable (b.1781), Mary (b.1783), and John Hosmer (b.1787).^[3] His father's occupation was as a pewterer and brazier and Hamlin initially trained in those fields.^[4][5][6] Hamlin had no formal public schooling. He was a person of scientific skills, even though he was self-taught on these technical abilities.^[7]

Hamlin had some training at the age of 15 as an engraver under the supervision of Samuel Canfield, a goldsmith in Middletown, Connecticut.^[8] His father was born in the town in 1746 and knew Canfield, so had his son apprenticed to him.^[9] He also studied engraving with Richard Brunton.^[10] Hamlin made his own tools for the work in mezzotint, aquatint and stipple.^[5] Upon completion of his apprenticeship, he set up a business in Middletown in 1791.^[11] In 1793 Hamlin went to New York City and worked for Dubley Mann and later for Peter Alison.^[10] Within a year he returned to Providence in 1794 where he opened a shop and did mainly engraving of bank notes.^[9] He set up his business on North Main next door to St. John's church.^[3] Hamlin published the first view of Providence, Rhode Island, in one of his engravings.^[6]

Mid life and business career[]

Hamlin's first moneymaking business was from 1806 to 1809; he sold all kinds of flutes, violins, flageolets, octave flutes, fifes and sheet music with his son John. It was first located directly across the street from the First Baptist Meetinghouse in downtown Providence at 11 Cheapside Street.^[3] Later he moved his business closer to the harbor eight doors south where he also sold and repaired optical, nautical and mathematical instruments for the navigational industry. In 1824, Hamlin's business was listed as: "Hamlin William, engraver & instrument maker, 135 S. Main".^[12]

Hamlin was at 135 South Main Street in 1824,^[12] then 120 South Main Street in 1832, then 88 South Main Street in 1836, then 86 South Main Street in 1838, and then 69 South Water Street from 1841 to 1845.^[3] Thereafter, he relocated to 131 South Water Street, and the business was called "The Sign of the Quadrant" advertising compasses, quadrants, sextants, spyglasses, and telescopes.^[13] The business was there from 1847 until Hamlin's death in 1869. At this business he became motivated to become an engraver. His first attempts at engraving were done on copper.^[7] Hamlin described himself strictly as a mathematical instrument maker after 1860, dropping the 'engraver' designation.^[12]

Hamlin was a manufacturer and repairer of optical instruments, telescopes, sextants, and quadrants and did this as an additional business.^[2][14] He was interested in astronomy and worked for many years perfecting a refractor telescope for his own use.^[13] It was the first one built ^[10][13] and the first telescope of any type constructed in the United States.^[8][15][16] This telescope that he put together in 1826 was made available to others to study the universe on August 7 when he first sold admission tickets for its use.^[17][18][19] The ticket is titled HAMLIN'S REFLECTING TELESCOPE and features a woman pointing to a banner that says, "Admit the Bearer." The telescope in the lower left corner of the ticket is inscribed "Hamlin" and in the middle upper right of the ticket is a quarter moon.^[18]

Works[]

Hamlin did a variety of engravings (technically etchings), most of which were done on order, such as membership certificates, bank notes, bookplates, watch papers, portraits and Providence buildings. Portraits of George Washington are his most enduring legacy. He did four engravings of Washington, including one for the 1800 publication of Memory of Washington by Oliver Farnsworth that gave a brief biography of Washington's life.^[20][21] The engravings became the object of public exhibition on the centenary celebration in 1899 of the death of George Washington.^[22]

Hamlin was going to start engraving business cards as he had done for himself, but immediately became more ambitious and started engraving busts of George Washington. One was a copy of Philadelphia painter Edward Savage's bust portrait of Washington and another he did in his ninety-first year was a copy of Jean-Antoine Houdon's bust sculptor of Washington. Hamlin's print "The Burning of the Frigate Philadelphia in Tripoli Harbor, February 1804" is his most famous work.^[7]

Many of Hamlin's engravings still exist and are in the form of bookplates, illustrated advertisements, marine scenes, Providence buildings and portraits. A famous specimen of his is the certificate for the Providence Marine Society which contains the earliest view of Providence.^[23] He was a member of the Mechanics Association of Providence and engraved a certificate of membership for the members. Hamlin engravings on notable people that still exist are of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, William Eaton, Stephen Gano, Isaac Watts, William H. Harrison, Enos Hitchcock, and James Manning. He is also notable for making bank note engravings for several Rhode Island banks.^[5] One of his engravings shows the First Congregational Church on Benefit Street, with some flames and smoke, an indication of the fire that broke out that destroyed the church in 1814. Another notable engraving he did is that of the Experiment, a horse powered boat. He also engraved a ticket for The Experiment, entitling the bearer to a trip to New-Port or Providence.^[5]

• 

  The Experiment,
  a horse powered boat
  ca. 1808

• 

  Ticket for The Experiment ca. 1808

• 

  Providence Marine Society membership certificate ca. 1798

• 

  First Congregational Church of Providence ca. 1814

• 

  George Washington
  engraving off Savage
  ca. 1799

• 

  " Courtship / Matrimony " trick engraving
  ca. 1798
• 

  Hamlin's trade card
  131 S. Water Street
  ca. 1847

• 

  Engagement between the Peacock and the Epervier 29 April 1814

Personal life[]

Hamlin was made a member of the Freemason society of Mt. Vernon Lodge 4, A. F. and A. M. Providence, in 1804.^[3] His masonic apron was still in the possession of his grandson, Frank Hamlin, in 1894.^[2]

Hamlin married Elizabeth Bowen (born 1787) on April 2, 1810. They had six children, four of which lived to adulthood. He died November 22, 1869, and his wife died December 29, 1852. ^[2]

References[]

Sources[]

• Andrews, Henry Franklin (1900). The Hamlin family. Exira, Iowa: H.F. Andrews.

• Bedini, Silvo (2001). With compass and chain. Professional Surveyors Pub. Co. ISBN 0-9665120-0-6. Mr. Hamlin will be happy to accomodate [sic] his friends with the use of the Telescope, though the effect is not so fine as during her quarters. Admission will be by tickets which may be obtained at Dana's Circulating Library.

• Bedini, Silvo (1964). American Scientific Instrument Makers. Museum of History and Technology, Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 9780598724038.

• Bohan, Peter (1970). Connecticut Silver, 1700–1840. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 978-0-8195-6848-9.

• Dodd, Mead (1899). The bookman. 10. Dodd, Mead and Co.

• Grolier Club (1899). Engraved portraits of Washington. The De Vinne Press. OCLC 1045393317.

• Malone, Dumas (1932). Dictionary of American Biography. 8. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 9781527753716.

• Stauffer, David (1907). American engravers upon copper and steel. Burt Franklin. OCLC 5580332.