G. Hamilton Hammon Scrapbooks

Collection

Identifier: MS-0408

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The George Hamilton Hammon Scrapbooks collection consists of two scrapbooks compiled by Australian artist and San Diego resident George Hamilton Hammon. A green photograph album titled "Original handwritten poems and photographs" includes fair copies of original manuscript poems, handpainted vignettes of San Diego scenes, and several photographs. Most of the poems were composed in California, except the last, which was written in Sydney, Australia, and dated 1911. Of particular interest is a handcolored photograph of "The Krishnamurti Camp, Ojai Valley, California," circa 1930. A larger scrapbook includes further poems, as well as newspaper clippings and snapshots documenting San Diego society and Hammon's travels in California and the southwest.

Dates

Creation: 1911 - 1939

Creator

Hammon, G. Hamilton (George Hamilton Hammon) (1869-1960) (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The copyright interests in some or all of these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creator(s) of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of archival collections is such that multiple creators are often applicable and copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. In any case, the user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, obtaining publication rights and copyright infringement. When requesting images from Special Collections & University Archives for publication, we require a signed agreement waiving San Diego State University of any liability in the event of a copyright violation.

Biographical Note

George Hamilton Hammon (1869-1960) was an Australian artist, poet and photographer who from 1919 lived much of his life in San Diego, California. Hammon's paintings, done mostly in watercolor and monochromatic inkwash, depict his native Sydney and the Australian countryside, in particular many scenes of Sydney Harbor. He also produced a series of works on New Zealand in 1905-1906. With wife Ada (née Alice), whom he married in 1891, he travelled the world and moved to the U.S. in 1916, where he eventually settled in San Diego. Hammon self-published much of his poetry in volumes including Pain & Gain (1917), Harmonies & Discords (1917), and Through Canyons and Flowers of the Golden West (1921), in addition to submitting articles and poems to newspapers. His literary output displays his interests in nature, spiritual teachings, occult philosophy, and vegetarianism, with many of his poems directly referring to various locales in San Diego and Southern California.