Echoing Hamilton's 200th birthday celebrations is a small but fascinating exhibition in the administrative offices of City Hall, featuring Autographs of British Royalty.

The regal flourishes date back to the reign of George II, when the Colony of Bermuda was well over one hundred years old, but it would be more than half a century before ambitious plans for the new port of Hamilton would be debated.

The collection belongs to Mr. Keith Hart, who has been a serious autograph hunter for the past 13 years and who specialises in the signatures of royalty and entertainers. He has been collecting Bermudian books and postcards since childhood.

"It's become a tradition to give the Corporation's stamp collection which is usually on show at City Hall, a summer break and to invite other collectors to display their items in the Administrative Offices,'' says Mr. Colin Benbow.

Calling himself the "unofficial curator'' the stamp collection actually belonged to Mr. Benbow, but about ten years ago he deeded it to the Corporation so that interested residents and visitors could see different sections on a rotating basis.

"We thought that Keith Hart's collection of British Royalty and related memorabilia would be an appropriate offering in light of the Corporation's 200th anniversary.'' Mr. Hart says his interest in royal autographs began when he obtained a signature by the late Duke of Windsor.

"There is something fascinating about handling something that has been touched by a prominent person, someone who changed the world.'' His collection is not confined to royalty. Mr. Hart also has the signatures of Hitler and his henchmen, Himmler and Goering: "It can be kind of eerie to hold something that's been held by people like that. Autographs are also an interesting insight into personality, you can find out a lot about character from the way people form their letters.'' He believes that signed photographs are more personal and therefore, far more interesting than lavish gifts "because often, expensive gifts were just ordered and sent to the recipient and never touched or even seen by the person who was making the gift''.

The first autograph in Mr. Hart's royal collection is dated 1743, and is a warrant for deducting taxes, signed by George II.

The rather wobbly signature of George III -- famous (or infamous, depending on how you view these things) for losing Britain's American colonies -- is probably explained by the fact that it dates from the last years of his life, when he had lapsed into periodic bouts of insanity.

The next monarch, also represented here, was George IV. He was unpopular because of his "feckless extravagance''. There is also the undated signature of William IV, born in 1765.

Victoria, whose long reign lasted from 1837 to 1901, is represented by a document signed in 1880, authorising the appointment of the French Consul at Singapore. It is countersigned by the Prime Minister of the time, Lord Salisbury.

Edward, who as Prince of Wales, led a more than merry life, highly disapproved of by his mother, became the much-loved Edward VII. Although his reign was a relatively short one, the Edwardian era personified the brief halcyon years before Europe was changed, for ever, by the outbreak of the First World War.

This autograph is interesting, as it consists of a letter, dated merely "Monday'' and thanks a society lady for forwarding on a letter.

George V, who decreed the new surname of Windsor for the Royal Family, has signed a decree, admitting "our trusty and well beloved Diana Isabel Brougham'' to the Order of the British Empire. There is also a signed Christmas card by his wife, Queen Mary.

Mr. Hart has made a detailed study of one of the briefest reigns of all, King Edward VIII, who came to the throne in 1936 and abdicated the same year in order to marry the twice-divorced Wallace Simpson.

He is represented in the collection by a note, written when he was Prince of Wales and a student at Oxford. It reads in part: "Dear Tingle (please excuse if I spelt this mystic name wrong!!)'' and goes on to invite him to "another set to'' at squash. It is dated June 9, 1914.

Autograph signatures while Edward was king are obviously rare, but Mr. Hart has acquired a document signed by him, confirming the appointment of an ambassador to Venezuela, dated October 14, 1936.

He also has more than 200 books written about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and says that he is only one of many people who collect memorabilia about the king who almost toppled the British monarchy.

"I met someone in the UK who has a piece of their wedding cake,'' he laughs.

The Windsors were married in France some months after the abdication.

There is a signed photograph of George VI and his daughter, Elizabeth II, who in 1953 became the first monarch to visit Bermuda, is represented by a photograph signed by her and Prince Philip, and showing them in casual pose when Prince Charles and Princess Ann were still children, on board the royal yacht Britannia .

In the realm of world leaders, Mr. Hart has the signatures of Sir Winston Churchill, President Reagan and two from John F. Kennedy. The first was when he was a senator and he recently acquired one, signed when he was President: "I was lucky. I bought it at auction in England and probably because of the recession, I was able to get it for about half what I would have paid in the US.'' Among entertainers, Mr. Hart has the autographs of many stars, including Dolly Parton, Bing Crosby, Brigette Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Clint Eastwood, Lord Olivier. He has two signatures by Eva Peron (of Evita fame), one of them before she married General Peron and was still an actress called Eva Duarte.

One of his most treasured possessions is a sheet of paper, containing the words of a song written, but never published, by rock 'n roll singer Buddy Holly, who tragically died in a plane crash at the height of his fame. "He had thrown it in the trash can, but it was rescued by somebody and now I have it. Not the whole song, but several lines.'' For Keith Hart, it is the stories lying behind many of the signatures, that makes autograph hunting such an endlessly fascinating hobby.

ROYAL MATRIARCH -- A Christmas card signed by Queen Mary (grandmother of the Queen) forms part of the Autographs of British Royalty, now on show at Corporation of Hamilton's offices at City Hall. Mr. Keith Hart.

SOVEREIGNS' AUTOGRAPHS -- This autograph of George IV forms part of the exhibition at City Hall.