Can you clock the real Alexander?
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
HE'S been hanging around the same Wick pub for 16 years, but it's recently come to light that he's not the man he's claimed to be.
An eagle-eyed Watten resident has noted that the portrait of Alexander Bain seen outside the JD Wetherspoon in Market Square is not the renowned inventor, but someone else.
Has "anyone ever noticed that the portrait on the sign for Wetherspoon's isn’t that of Alexander Bain... but instead that of a Scottish philosopher by the same name?" asks Watten resident Fiona Gunn.
The pub chain routinely names its pubs after significant local people and the 19th century Watten inventor was deemed eminent enough to lend his name to their new Wick pub when it opened in 2003.
The fact Fiona is not only from Watten but lives in Houstry, close to the same house where the great inventor was born, no doubt gives her some insider knowledge on Alexander.
Bain was born in 1810 and despite being credited as inventor of the electric clock and an early version of the fax machine he died in poverty in Kirkintilloch in 1877.
In 2016 he was given a posthumous Emmy award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his contribution towards the invention of the television. The early fax machine, which Bain called a facsimile telegraph, was patented in 1843 and contained the fundamentals of what would become television. It was the first time an image had been scanned from one location to another.
Wick councillor Andrew Sinclair picked up on the Fiona's Facebook post and thought it could make a quirky story for the paper.
"In a way it’s quite amusing and I’m sure it was probably an honest mistake. It’s clear that at some stage someone at Wetherspoon's had Googled the name Alexander Bain and picked the first picture that came up.
"Unfortunately, the first image is that of a completely different Alexander Bain – a philosopher from Aberdeen – rather than the local inventor."
Mr Sinclair thought a bit more research by the company would have paid off and how it would perhaps be a "nice gesture" if Wetherspoon could correct their error to recognise Watten born Alexander Bain.
"We often don’t promote our heritage loudly enough in Caithness. Alexander Bain was the first person to patent the electric clock and we should be highlighting him and other great Caithness figures from history.”
After being contacted by the Groat, Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “We can confirm that the Alexander Bain on the pub sign is the Aberdeen philosopher. The sign has been up since the pub opened a number of years ago and this error has not been pointed out until now."
However, Mr Gershon did stress that the pub does actually have the correct portrait of Alexander Bain inside the building alongside information on his life.
“Wetherspoon takes pride in the naming of its pubs and the associated artwork, but we have to hold our hands up and say this is an error. We thank the newspaper for pointing it out.”
JD Wetherspoon's marketing department would not confirm if the pub sign would be changed.
Commenting on the original Facebook post, Caithness exile Douglas Leith applauded Fiona Gunn for her "excellent sleuthing" but admitted "it probably places greater shame on the people of Caithness, than on Wetherspoons, for never knowing the difference after more than 15 years of that sign hanging."
A Wick artist who now lives in New York has weighed into the debate
"The portrait is a crude copy from the original photograph," says Ian Charles Scott.
"Certain features loom into caricature and it lacks the depth and solid foundations of under-painting essential for a good likeness."
Mr Scott added, however, that as it was only destined for a pub sign and not an art gallery "it serves it's intended purpose well".
"As few can recall the exact features of Alexander Bain, the whole furore is of little purpose and it is more an interesting talking point than if the correct head was there."
