Princess Victoria Kaiulani, heir to the Kingdom of Hawaii,
in a photo taken in the 1890s.
Historic letters
about princess
to be sold
Condolences to Kaiulani's
By Pat Omandam
family offered at auction
Star-BulletinIn 1899, Mary L. Milmore read the news from Hawaii of the tragic death of the popular Princess Victoria Kaiulani, 23-year-old heiress to the Hawaiian kingdom. Milmore wrote that she immediately sought Queen Liliuokalani, who was lobbying Congress to reinstate the monarchy after the 1893 overthrow, to offer her condolences over the death of her niece.
Liliuokalani, however, didn't know Kaiulani had died. Milmore had to tell her.
Milmore described her actions in a March 17, 1899, letter to Archibald Cleghorn, Kaiulani's father. That correspondence is among the 83 condolence letters Cleghorn received over the March 6 death of the princess that are up for bid in an auction that ends Sunday.
The auction is being conducted via the Internet by Paul Edney, a Hawaii stamp and coin dealer, for an unidentified local Hawaiiana collector who bought the letters from the Cleghorn family.
The minimum bid for the collection is $25,000, Edney said. The collection falls under several headings, such as Hawaiiana, postal history, autographs and philately, he said.
A letter in the collection that is being sold at auction
features a bold letterhead of a hotel in Rome. The letters of
condolence were written to the family of Princess Kaiulani.
"And of course, it is unique," Edney said. "There's nothing else like it. If anyone bought this no one else would have anything comparable. It's not like collecting a stamp or a coin."While some say the letters should go to the highest bidder, others believe they represent a part of history that should be preserved for the public. Oahu resident Jack Cleghorn, a distant descendant of Archibald Cleghorn, suggests the collection go to a museum.
"I believe it should be in the Bishop Museum, most definitely," Cleghorn said. "That's part of Hawaiian history."
Bishop Museum would welcome the collection, but it doesn't actively pursue the purchase of Hawaiiana items. Normally, things are "gifted" to the museum, said spokeswoman Cheryl Toda.
Jon Osorio, assistant professor of Hawaiian studies at the University of Hawaii, reasoned the letters became public property when they were sold by the family. Therefore, as public property, a historic organization or group should acquire them.
"And I think that they would be valuable to any historian who is interested in knowing the extent of international knowledge of Hawaii's situation at the time of the annexation," Osorio said.
"I would very much favor having some historical society have ownership of them," he said.
The original letters and envelopes, all handwritten with 1899 postmarks from around the world, detail the fondness and love for Kaiulani, whom many considered the last hope for the Hawaiian monarchy. The letters offer a glimpse into how the princess and the royal family were regarded by others.
Addressed to the Hon. A.S. Cleghorn, Honolulu,
Hawaiian Islands, this cover is postmarked 1899.
Born in 1875, Kaiulani as a teen-ager became good friends in Hawaii with Robert Louis Stevenson, inspiring the famed author to write a poem about her. Kaiulani left for Europe in 1889 for royal training and returned to Hawaii eight years later.In March 1899, reports are that Kaiulani was riding a horse on the Big Island when she got ill. She returned to Honolulu and died on March 6. The correspondence her father received (her mother, Princess Miriam Likelike, died in 1887) showed an outpouring of affection for the princess.
Unfortunately, Edney said the collection doesn't include letters from head of states like Queen Victoria or the U.S. president, although he believes Cleghorn received such condolences.
"I have a feeling the family is holding on to the very best and the family just released what they consider not the very best," he said.
The auction opened last week on his website with good response, Edney said. Other local collectors said Hawaiiana draws much more interest from the East Coast and Europe than from local residents. They say Kaiulani items remain the most sought after royal collectibles because of her status as the last heiress to the throne.
Those interested may view the Kauilani Web site at: http://www.coinshows.com/kaiulani.html. Collectors can also e-mail their bid to enelani@aloha.net or fax to 1 (808) 923-3537. Bidding closes at 6 p.m. Sunday, Hawaii time. Edney is expected to reveal the top bidder on Monday.
