Hawaiian Furniture and Hawaii's Cabinetmakers 1820-1940

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, along with those of the artisans and importers who completed Hawaii's community of woodworkers and craftsmen. Over 300 illustrations, most in color, many of them photographs of the homes and interiors in which the pieces rest.