Nine stiff grey paper mounts ca. 24.5 x 17 cm (9 ½ x 6 ½ in). 56 mounted gelatin silver photographs from ca. 13 x 8 cm (5 x 3 in) to 4 x 2 cm (1 ¾ x ¾ in). Period ink captions written on 48 images. Mounts slightly waved and rubbed on extremities; A couple of photos mildly faded, some with mild creasing or tears not affecting images, but overall a very good collection of interesting rare photos.

A rare collection of original gelatin silver photographs showing the island of Kauai and Honolulu, Oahu, around the time of Halley’s Comet. The comet was visible with the naked eye in April 1910, with Hawaii being well-situated to view it. The collection was likely compiled by visitors from San Francisco, who took the SS Mongolia (launched 1903) to Honolulu and the SS Wilhelmina (launched 1909) back.

In 1910 Hawaii had only been a US territory for just over a decade, having been annexed in 1898. The annexation of Hawaii followed the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1894, orchestrated by American businessmen who wanted Hawaii to come under US control. Plantations, predominantly growing sugarcane, have dotted the Hawaiian Islands since the 1830s; the first sugarcane plantation was founded on Kauai in 1835.

Over 25 photographs show the island of Kauai. They include landscapes of Waimea Canyon and “Waihimee Canyon,” mountains, a waterfall, rice fields, and a pineapple plantation; the house of one “Mr. Gay,” built in the mountains (likely the cabin owned by Gay & Robinson, Inc. in Kaholuamanu); a sugarcane harvest; portraits of Native Hawaiians, including one family in front of their traditional home; a Japanese labourer; and one “F. Biggs” posing with a large pile of harvested coconuts.

Also included are over 10 photographs of Honolulu. They show a bird’s eye view of Honolulu, with Diamond Head in the distance; Pearl Harbour; a crowd of passengers on a dock waiting for the SS Wilhelmina; ʻIolani Palace, capitol building of Hawaii until 1969; “surf riding” in Waikiki; the entrance and beachfront deck of the “Hau Tree” hotel, predecessor to the current day Halekulani hotel; and the collection compiler climbing a palm tree, having lost a “fool bet.”

Other photographs in the collection include snapshots from onboard the SS Wilhelmina, showing the swimming tank and an “exhibition contest” between a “Tommy Burns [and] Bill Lang”; group photos from onboard the SS Mongolia; a portrait of Bernice Dwight, a woman who ran as a “Fourth District” Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in the Hawaii Territorial Legislature in 1928; and the Grizzly Giant sequoia in Yosemite National Park.

Overall, a rare interesting collection of photographs showing Kauai and Honolulu just over a decade after Hawaii became a US territory.