Hawaiian Furniture and Hawaii's Cabinetmakers 1820-1940

E-292: Editions Ltd. Very Good. 1983. Hardcover. Hardcover. 4to. Published by Daughters of Honolulu by Editions Limited, Honolulu, Hawaii. 1983. Xiii, 350 pgs. Illustrated with 300 photographs mostly in color. First Edition/First Printing. DJ has light shelf-wear present to the DJ extremities. Bound in cloth boards with titles present to the spine and front board. Boards have light shelf-wear present to the extremities. No ownership marks present. Text is clean and free of marks. Binding tight and solid. Despite the unique and colorful history of furniture making in Hawaii, few people have written about it or shown, through text and photography, the rich blend of aesthetics in its style. Nor have the histories of the many craftsmen who created Hawaiian furniture been explored. This book, then, is a first. As the islands changed during the nineteenth century, many island people wished to own, and finally were able to afford, foreign goods. They nevertheless always preferred furnishings made from native timber, particularly from koa. The kings and queens preferred it, as did the common folk, kamaaina and foreigners. And this deep-rooted affection has been passed on to people today. For the first time a book has been written that presents a historical survey of furniture making in Hawaii, seen through the lives of the craftsmen who created island furniture. The survey begins, appropriately, in the native forests with the loggers and sawyers who struggled there. It then describes the lives of the early missionaries, most of whom became furniture makers out of necessity, often with little prior training. They were soon followed by masterful European craftsmen, whose furniture was bought and proudly displayed by Hawaiian royalty. Their stories are told along with those of the skilled craftsmen from China and Japan who blended the aesthetics of Asia with those of Polynesia and the West. The lives of the carpenters and cabinetmakers of the plantations are also told. EB; 11.7 X 9.2 X 1.2 inches; 350 pages .