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

25224

Kamehameha IV and Kaahumanu IV Document Signed

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Cultures & Ethnicities Start Price:325.00 USD Estimated At:1,300.00 - 1,800.00 USD
Kamehameha IV and Kaahumanu IV Document Signed
<B>Kamehameha IV and Kaahumanu IV Partly Printed Document Signed</B></I> <I>"Kamehameha"</B></I> as King of Hawaii and <I>"Kaahumanu"</B></I> as Kuhina Nui , two pages, 8" x 13". Honolulu, February 25, 1856. Headed: <I>"Helu 2430/Palapala Sila Nui"</B></I> (Royal Patent Number 2430), this document, entirely in the Hawaiian language, concerns land identified as <I>"Apana 1," "Apana 2," "Apana 3," "Apana 4,"</B></I> and <I>"Apana 5."</B></I> An "apana" is a land parcel. <B>The survey describes the boundaries of five land parcels belonging to a person called Kawaihae situated at Palolo, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii,</B></I> and contains a surveyor's sketch of each of the five apana. In 1850, the enactment of the Kuleana Act empowered the Board of Land Commissioners to award title to native tenants for their plots of land or "kuleana" which may consist of several apana. When the Land Commission confirmed an individual's land claim, it issued an award of that land to the claimant. Generally, upon payment of a commutation tax to the government, the Minister of the Interior conveyed complete title in the form of a royal patent. Alexander Liholiho (1834-1863) reigned as Kamehameha IV from 1855-1863. He was a grandson of Hawaii's first king, Kamehameha I, and the nephew and successor of Kamehameha III. King Kamehameha IV's sister, Princess Victoria Kamamalu (1838-1866), had served as Kuhina Nui (equivalent of Premier) since 1855. She had taken the name Kaahumanu IV. On November 30, 1863, when Kamehameha IV died at the age of 29 of chronic asthma, she assumed the Hawaiian throne and, on the same day, named her brother Lot Kapuaiwa to succeeded Alexander as King Kamehameha V. A bachelor, he appointed his sister as Heiress-Apparent and crown princess of Hawaii. She was only 27 when she died in 1866. With no direct heirs, Kamehameha V was the last monarch of the House of Kamehameha. The document has three vertical folds and light foxing. The King has boldly signed to the left of a 1.25" diameter red wax seal. His sister has signed beneath the seal. Matted and framed under glass on both sides to an overall size of 22.25" x 18.5", displaying both sides, the document is in fine condition. <B>A remarkable combination of signatures on one document: 22-year-old King Kamehameha IV (died at 29) and his 17-year-old sister and successor as Regent, Kaahumanu IV (died at 27).</B></I><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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