LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Apr Books, Manuscripts & Autographs #658  / 

25226

Kalakaua Letter Signed as King of Hawaii

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Cultures & Ethnicities Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 700.00 USD
Kalakaua Letter Signed as King of Hawaii
<B>Kalakaua Manuscript Letter Signed <I>"Kalakaua"</B></I> as King of Hawaii,</B></I> 2.5 pages, 5" x 8", separate sheets. Hawaii , c. 1874-1883. On his royal stationery, in English, to Major Charles T. Gulick. King Kalakaua has decided to sell Pulehuniu, an estate on Maui. In part, <I>"The land of Pulehuniu was given by Aikauaka my grandfather to Keaweamahi as Konohiki land agent , and during the Division of lands in 1848, he was permitted by my mother to enter the land in his own name. I would also like to have the Loko at Kalihi, with the land or Kula land adjoining it below the Government Road going to Waialua together with Pulehu. Col. Judd will hand you a list of articles belonging individually to me, and some to the Queen. I would also ask as a favor of the widow to give me my mothers picture. Keelikolani would like to have it."</B></I> Aikanaka (c.1790-c.1868) was King Kalakaua's grandfather. His daughter, Keohokalole (1816-1869), was mother of David Kalakaua. When King Kamehameha V died in 1872 without naming a successor to the throne, under the Kingdom's constitution, a new king would be appointed by the legislature. William C. Lunalilo was elected and reigned as King Lunalilo until his death in 1874. David Kalakaua (1836-1891) was elected King of Hawaii on February 12, 1874. His wife, Queen Kapiolani, was a granddaughter of King Kaumualii. Princess Keelikolani (1826-1883) was a great-granddaughter of King Kamehameha I. In1887, King Kalakaua granted to the U.S. government "the exclusive right to enter the harbor of Pearl River, in the Island of Oahu, and to establish and maintain there a coaling and repair station for the use of vessels of the U.S. and to that end the U.S may improve the entrance to said harbor and do all things useful to the purpose aforesaid." A U.S. naval station was established at Pearl Harbor in 1899. Kalakaua's "Hymn to Kamehameha I" set to music by Henry Berger, is known today as "Hawaii Ponoi." The Hawaiian national anthem, it is today the state song of Hawaii. When King Kalakaua I died in 1891 without heirs, he was succeeded by his sister, Liliuokalani. <B>Major Charles T. Gulick,</B></I> the recipient of this letter, later served as King Kalakaua's Minister of the Interior (1883-1886) and Finance (1885-1886). In 1894, he was involved in an ill-fated plan, in support of Queen Liliuokalani, to effect a counter-revolution against the newly created Republic of Hawaii. <B>Colonel Charles H. Judd</B></I> was Royal Chamberlain of King Kalakaua I and brother of Albert Francis Judd, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was also one of the King's schoolmates at the Royal School in 1849. The letter has some light staining and a vertical fold passes through part of the first <I>"K"</B></I> in <I>"Kalakaua."</B></I> Boldly penned and signed, in apparent very good condition, it has been matted and framed under glass to an overall size of 23.5" x 15.75".<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Framed - with Glass, Medium (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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