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| 0518 Hawaii map (1) |
Posted on 24.02.2013, 31.12.2015
"These island were born of the night, sired by the sun, cradled in the sea, with clouds and trade-winds for playmates, and a hula-moon for godmother", write on this postcard. I don't know who is the godmother of this archipelago, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, at 3,200km southwest of the North American mainland, but the godfather was James Cook, who discovered it in 1778 and named it the Sandwich Islands, in honor of his sponsor John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Can't be said that Europeans were even a blessing for the Polynesian locals, because by 1820, Eurasian diseases, famine, and wars among the chiefs killed more than half of them. In nowadays only 10.0% of the inhabitants are Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, and less than 0.1% of the total population are native speakers of the Hawaiian language.
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| 2170 Hawaii map (2) |
The Kingdom of Hawaii was sovereign from 1810 until 1893 when the monarchy was overthrown by resident American businessmen, because it opposed to integration in the United States. In 1993, the President Bill Clinton gave a formal apology for the American role in the revolution and the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. The archipelago was an independent republic from 1894 until 1898, when it was annexed by the United States as a territory, becoming a state in 1959. As is known, Hawaii was the target of the attack on Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japan on December 7, 1941, which brought the United States into WWII.
Hawaii encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 2,400 km, the eight main islands (Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lānai, Kahoolawe, Maui and Hawaii) being located at the southeastern end of the archipelago. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania. Its diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches and oceanic surrounding, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike.
About the stamps
On the postcard 0518
The first stamp, depicting an American Toleware, is part of the series American Design, about which I wrote here. The second shows a photograph by James Amos of the beautiful countryside of Lancaster County (Pennsylvania) and is part of the Scenic American Landscapes series, about which I wrote here.
On the postcard 2170
The last two stamps are part of series that feature 10 still frames from the 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas, about which I wrote here.
The third stamp was issued on October 10, 2013, and depict the poinsettia. William Low painted the stamp art. Ethel Kessler was the art director.
The last stamp, depicting Hawaiian goose (Branta sandvicensis) and Hibiscus, the bird and the flower of the state of Hawaii, is part of the series State Birds and Flowers, about which I wrote here.
References
Hawaii - Wikipedia
Sender 0518: Marius Vasilescu
Sent from Honolulu (Hawaii / USA), on 08.02.2013
Sender 2170: Denise
Sent from Greenvale (New York / USA), on 01.12.2015
Designer: Joe Feher / 1950's
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