Postcards Provide History Of Hawaii

BOOK REVIEW

If you’d like to take a trip to Hawaii but it’s not in your budget this year, take an armchair trip to our 50th state with Hawaii Remembered, Postcards from Paradise, by Tina Skinner, Mary L. Martin & Nathaniel Wolfgang-Price.  It gives a most interesting look at Hawaii as it was in the first part of the 20th century, as it depicts much of the history of Hawaii through the use of old postcards.

Nothing is more dramatic in Hawaii than its volcanoes, which formed the islands originally and still is adding to their land mass with the active volcano Kilauea. Tourists have been visiting the Kilauea caldera since the early 1800s and the Volcano House, which is still in business for meals and lodging, was originally built in 1866. Several of the old postcards depict the fiery molten lava, but others show the tourists travelling on the road to the volcano in their horse-drawn buggies. There is one showing three persons standing on the cooled lava - and the picture could have been taken last year, except last year the three would have been in shorts and tennis shoes, whereas in this 1910 photo card, they are dressed in full black suits.

The beautiful colored fish that abound in the waters around the island have always provided a staple in the meals of Hawaiians, and another group of postcards pictures the fishermen and fishing techniques of the early 20th century.

This is followed by a section of that other staple of early Hawaiian meals, poi. While no one seems to like it, this product of the taro plant has been used in dozens of ways. Fed to the elderly, it eased digestive problems; the taro stem  could be applied to the skin to stop bleeding or help heal insect bites; mashed taro leaves, mixed with salt, were used as a poultice for infections; and it probably comes as no surprise to anyone who has eaten it that poi was also used as a glue! There’s a great postcard of an early taro peddler with Diamond Head in the background.

Postcards of flowers, buildings, sugar cane harvesting, hula dancing, and more - all with a concise bit of background history - make this a delightful way to learn about Hawaii as it once was.

The book, published by Schiffer Publishing, sells for $24.95. Check with your local bookseller or contact Schiffer at 4880 Lower Valley Rd., Atglen, PA 19310;  online at www.schifferbooks.com. (Note: the book includes values for most of the postcards.)

Donna Miller

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“Best” Of Shirley Temple Featured In Book

BOOK REVIEW

The Shirley Temple Collector's Guide, by Edward R. Pardella, is a recent release of Schiffer Publishing. It is designed to be used in conjunction with the author's previous books, Shirley Temple Dolls and Fashions and A Collector's Guide to the World's Darling.

The first two books focused on Shirley's childhood years and rise to stardom and featured many of the early Shirley Temple dolls and collectibles. This volume has drawn from some of the largest collections of Shirley Temple memorabilia in the country and the 600 photographs in the book illustrate what the author calls "the best of the best."

It includes composition dolls of the 1930s, vinyl dolls, porcelain dolls, paper dolls, movie posters, movie magazines, sheet music, postcards, and miscellaneous novelty items and collectibles.

Shirley Temple was a favorite of children and adults alike as she made her films during the dark days of the Depression. A symbol of optimism at that time, President Franklin Roosevelt summed it up when he said, "As long as we have Shirley Temple, we will be all right!"

She has been more than just a child darling, however, and her adult years have been spent in public service, in addition to being a wife, mother and grandmother. She was co-founder of the International Federation of Multiple Sclerosis Societies and was a United States delegate to the United nations, to name just two of her adult activities.

This book, in addition to the chapters on different types of collectibles, includes a complete motion picture and television chronology of Shirley Temple's films, along with a comprehensive VHS and DVD catalog.

The Shirley Temple Collector’s Guide sells for $29.95. Check with your local bookseller or contact Schiffer Publishing, online at www.schifferbooks.com or write to the company at 4880 Lower Valley Rd., Atglen, PA 19310. (If ordering from the publisher, please include $3.95 for shipping.)

Donna Miller

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