Hamilton Head Shots

Here is a sneak peek at Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Hamilton, who I hope to submit for consideration by Art Doll Quarterly (for the gallery section) and Doll Costuming in another week or so. I'm not pleased with the full-length shots we got, so they'll have to be shot again. But some of the detail shots will give you an idea of how much work went into each figure. Anybody who knows me knows that Alexander Hamilton is my all-time hero. He wasn't a perfect man, but perfection isn't a requirement of heroes in my book, only greatness. And he demonstrated that in abundance. Hamilton was a bastard, born on the West Indian island of Nevis. He proved his genius at an early age and was sent to America to attend college. The self-taught lad proposed an accelerated course of study to the presidents of Princeton, then King's College (now Columbia University). His proposal was accepted by the latter. But after about a year, he joined an artillery unit in the Revolutionary War. He quickly came to the attention of George Washington and became the general's aide to camp (sort of a personal secretary in camp), handling Washington's correspondence, etc. Washington found Hamilton's service and brilliance indispensable and repeatedly refused to return Hamilton to active service (where he had some hope of elevating the social status of his illegitimate birth). Finally, Washington did give in, but only after Hamilton forced an altercation and resigned. When Hamilton, no longer his aide, applied to the general for a commission, Washington finally relented. Hamilton served at the Battle of Yorktown, leading a battalion that captured Redoubt 10 and contributed greatly to the American victory over England (it didn't hurt that the French army was there, either).

While serving as Washington's aide, Hamilton (rumored to be a bit of a Cassanova), met Elizabeth Schuyler, the daughter of one of Washington's generals, Philip Schuyler. The pair fell madly in love and were married at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany, N.Y. Elizabeth adored Hamilton, bore him eight children and forgave him when he humiliated her with a public disclosure of the intimate details of a scandalous affair. She survived him by more than 50 years and spent her widowhood exonerating his reputation as a founding father. She also founded an orphanage (Hamilton was abandoned by his father at age 9 and his mother died when he was 11, leaving him essentially an orphan in the West Indies).

More later ...

Nina