Hawaiian Music Online Photograph Exhibition

Kicking off our celebration of Archives Month 2020, the Hawaiʻi State Archives presents over 450 photographs depicting Hawaiian music from various collections found within the Public Archives. They are presented in this online exhibition as high-resolution preservation color scans. Images from the 19th century offer a window into the introduction of European music to the Hawaiian Islands and the adaptation and skill that produced music groups such as the Royal Hawaiian Military Band and the prolific and talented composers such as the Nā Lani ʻEhā – the four royals; David Kalākaua, Liliʻuokalani, Leleiōhoku, and Miriam Likelike. A series of 20th century-images recollect a “Golden Age of Hawaiian Music” when styles were adapted for orchestras and big bands. The voices of performers such as Lani McIntire, James Kameaaloha Almeida, Alfred Apaka, Sol Hoʻopiʻi and others from radios in the U. S. and elsewhere as the hugely popular and long-running radio show “Hawaii Calls” made these Hawaiian singers household names across the sea.

The photographs in this digital exhibition cover a wide range of music genres and eras and come from several collections at the Hawaiʻi State Archives. The original photographic prints, which are kept at the State Archives, have been reproduced with color calibration targets and are available uncropped at 600dpi. Along with the high-quality digitized images, the reverse of these unique prints have also been scanned to offer contextual information about the image. Please note that the information written on the reverse of these prints has not been verified but presented for informational purposes only.

Images from the Digital Exhibition are from the following collections:

  • Main Photograph Collection, Series PP
  • Withdrawn Photograph Collection, Series PPWD
  • Admiral Furlong, Series PPFUR
  • George Bacon, Series PPBAC
  • Department of Hawaiian Homelands, Series 504

Throughout October, selections from this exhibition will be featured on our social media as our Photo-of-the-Day posts. These selected photographs have been picked by notable persons in the Hawaiian Music community with their nostalgic thoughts and comments to offer additional contextual information that would not normally be available. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see them daily:

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Timothy Montgomery with ʻŪkēkē. PPBAC-4-3-010
As a reminder, the Hawaiʻi State Archives is a government institution, and therefore the State Archives does not charge permission fees nor claim the copyright to these images. It is the user’s obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Archives’ collections.

Ka Hōʻikeʻike Paʻeʻe Mau Kiʻi Mele Hawaiʻi

Ka hoʻomaka ʻana i ko kākou hoʻolauleʻa ʻana i ka Malama Waihona Palapala Kahiko 2020, hōʻike ka Waihona Palapala Aupuni o ka Mokuʻāina ʻo Hawaiʻi i nā kiʻi he 450 ā keu e pili ana i nā mele Hawaiʻi mai nā ʻohina like ʻole a ka Waihona Palapala Kahiko Ākea. Hōʻike ʻia lākou ma loko o kēia hōʻikeʻike paʻeʻe ma ke ano he mau kiʻi kikohoʻe waihoʻoluʻu miomio. Hōʻike kēia mau kiʻi o ke kenekulia 19 i ka hoʻolauna ʻana i nā mele Europa i mua o nā mokupuni o Hawaiʻi; Pēia pū i nā mākau i hoʻoulu i nā hui mele e like me Ka Pūʻali Puhi ʻOhe O Ka Mōʻī o Hawaiʻi a me nā haku mele noʻeau hānau nui ʻo ia nō hoʻi ʻo Nā Lani ʻEhā me David Kalākaua, Liliʻuokalani, Leleiohoku, a me Miriam Likelike. Hoʻomanaʻo nā kiʻi o ke kenekulia he 20 i ke “Au Kula o nā Mele Hawaiʻi.” Ma kēia au, ua hōʻano hou ʻia nā ʻano mele no nā hui hoʻokani pila a me nā pana nui. Ua hoʻokaulana ʻo “Hawaiʻi Calls”, he hōʻikeʻike lēkio hikiāloa makemake nui ʻia, i nā mea hīmeni Hawaiʻi ʻo ia hoʻi ʻo Lani McIntire, James Kameaaloha Almeida, Alfred Apaka, Sol Hoʻopiʻi, a me kekahi mau kānaka a puni ʻo ʻAmelika Hui Pū ʻIa a me nā ʻāina ʻē.

Aia ma loko o kēia hōʻikeʻike paʻeʻe nā kiʻi mai kekahi mau ʻohina ma ka Waihona Palapala Aupuni o ka Mokuʻāina ʻo Hawaiʻi. Hōʻike nā kiʻi i nā ʻano mele a me nā wā like ʻole. Ua hoʻolaupaʻi ʻia nā paʻi kiʻi kumu i hōʻiliʻili ʻia ma ka Waihona Palapala Aupuni o ka Mokuʻāina me nā māka kauanakahi waihoʻoluʻu, ʻoki ʻole ʻia ma 600dpi. A me ia mau kiʻi i hoʻouila hunehune ʻia, ua paʻi kiʻi ʻia nā ʻaoʻao huli o kēia mau paʻi laha ʻole no ka wehewehe ʻana i ka pōʻaiapili o nā kiʻi. ʻAʻole i hōʻoia ʻia ka ʻike i kākau ʻia ma ka ʻaoʻao huli o kēia mau paʻi, akā hōʻike ʻia lākou no ka hoʻomaopopo ʻana.

Aia nā kiʻi o ka Hōʻikeʻike Paʻeʻe ma loko o kēia mau ʻohina:

  • Ka ʻOhina Kiʻi ʻOi, Pūkaʻina PP
  • Ka ʻOhina Kiʻi Hoʻokaʻawale ʻia, Pūkaʻina PPWD
  • ʻAkimalala ʻo Furlong, Pūkaʻina PPFUR
  • George Bacon, Pūkaʻina PPBAC
  • ʻOihana o nā ʻĀina Hoʻopulapula, Pūkaʻina 504

Ma ʻOkakopa, e hōʻike ʻia ana nā ʻohina o kēia hōʻikeʻike ma luna o kō mākou mau kahua pāpaho hoʻohauoli ma ke ano he mau Kiʻi-o-ka-Lā. ʻOhi ʻia kēia mau kiʻi e nā kānaka ʻano nui ma ke Kaiāulu Mele Hawaiʻi. Ua hāʻawi lākou i ko lākou manaʻo no ka hoʻomaopopo ʻana i ka pōʻaiapili o nā kiʻi. E hahai iā mākou ma Facebook a me Instagram no ka ʻike ʻana iā lākou i nā lā āpau:

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I ʻike kākou, he ʻoihana aupuni ka Waihona Palapala Aupuni o ka Mokuʻāina ʻo Hawaiʻi, a no laila, ʻaʻole hoʻouku ka Waihona Palapala Aupuni o ka Mokuʻāina i nā uku ʻae, a ʻaʻole koi i nā palapala hoʻokuleana no kēia mau kiʻi. Kuleana ka mea hoʻohana no ka holo manaʻo ʻana a me ka hoʻokō ʻana i ka palapala hoʻokuleana a i ʻole kekahi mau kaupalena i kona paʻi ʻana aiʻole kona hoʻolaha ʻana i nā palapala ma loko o nā ʻohina ma ka Waihona Palapala Aupuni.

Please click on following links to browse through the exhibition.

Folder Name/Description Folder Number
George Bacon Collection
Hawaiians, Children, Dancers, Miscellaneous, Women PPBAC-1-16
People, L-W PPBAC-4-3
Admiral Furlong Collection
Navy Yard, Recreation PPFUR-1-22
Department of Hawaiian Homelands
Hawaiian Musicians, ca. 1960’s – 1980 504-2-5
Photograph Collection
Bands PP-4-2
Bands, Harry Owens/Royal Hawaiian Hotel PP-4-3
Bands, Royal Hawaiian PP-4-4
Bands, Royal Hawaiian (with Henri Berger) PP-4-5
Hula Dancers, Musicians, Groups, Early period PP-32-8
Hula Dancers, Musicians, Groups, Early period (2) PP-32-9a
Hula Dancers, Musicians, Groups, King Kalakaua’s birthday 1885 PP-32-9b
Hula Dancers, Musicians, Groups, Middle period PP-32-10
Hula Dancers, Musicians, Groups, Recent period PP-33-1
Hula Dancers, Musicians, Groups, Recent period (2) PP-33-2
Hula Dancers, Musicians, Groups, Portraits, Early period PP-33-3
Hula Dancers, Musicians, Groups, Portraits, Middle period PP-33-4
Hula Dancers, Musicians, Groups, Portraits, Recent period PP-33-5
Withdrawn Photograph Collection
Bands PPWD-1-3
Hawaiians, Hula Dancers and Musicians PPWD-6-4
Hawaiians, Hula Dancers and Musicians (2) PPWD-6-5
Hawaiians, Hula Dancers PPWD-7-1
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Exhibition created October 1, 2020