A Quest for the Hawai'i of Years Past* Hawai'i today is for some a paradise lost and for others a paradise found. Since the beginning of the century, the Hawai'i familiar to most of the world is the Hawai'i of Waikiki beach on O'ahu, the Hawai'i of Duke Kahanamoku of or Elvis Presley. Waikiki today is a virtual concrete jungle, bristling with thirty thousand hotel rooms. A Mecca for package tourists, Waikiki is, in many ways, one sprawling shopping mall. At one end are the tacky trinkets and T-shirt emporia, and at the other are the luxury brand-name boutiques pandering to the high spending tourists. Despite the bland and unimaginative commercialism of such high and low-brow hucksters, the islands and Waikiki in particular still retain much of their essential charm and scenic beauty. Diamond Head, one of the most recognized landmarks in the world, and Waikiki beach with its sparkling white sands and rolling surf, still attract visitors from across the globe. Mauna Kea Galleries for the first time ever, shows you the Hawai'i of the Golden Age of travel. The focus is on objects produced and designed for the tourist industry in the islands during the period from the turn of the century to the post war years when jet travel changed the islands and its way of life forever. The Hawaiian Islands are rich in history, from the earliest Polynesian voyagers to the explorers, missionaries, whalers, and traders who spread the word of this idyllic paradise to the four corners of the world. Mark Twain, upon visiting Hawai'i, named it "the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean." In the beginning of this Golden Age, visitors arrived in Hawai'i by steamship after a leisurely five to seven day crossing from the American West Coast. Daily activities on board were, for the most part, quite elegant and certainly social, with high teas, meals of superb quality, and dancing by moonlight. The newly arrived visitors, or malihini, were greeted by hula dancers, lei girls, children diving for coins, and of course, the Royal Hawaiian Band. Soon, these new visitors were surrounded by this warm spirit called aloha, which, when combined with the soft fragrances of fresh flower leis and cool ocean breezes, created for them the true feeling of having arrived in paradise, as they were whisked away to their new accommodations by the beach. One of the earliest hotels from this grand age of travel was the Moana Hotel, the 'first lady of Waikiki' built in 1901. Fitted out in its late-Victorian splendor, complete with sweeping verandas, it boasted an over water dance floor and dining room. The Moana, along with the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (called the "Pink Palace"), built in 1927, would become paramount icons of this Golden Age of Travel. Today, both of these grand hotels have been magnificently restored by their Japanese owners. But if one walks through the lobbies of these palaces, even though they are surrounded by the high-rise towers of mega-hotels and the concrete expanses of shopping centers, one can still catch glimpses of the bygone era when pineapple juice flowed from the fountains and well heeled passengers arrived with their own cars and chauffeurs in tow.   Soon, the social make-up of the islands was forever changed following the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The war brought in a huge influx of new visitors: the servicemen who would further spread the message of aloha throughout the globe. The elegant hotels on the beach were soon filled with battle-weary men who, for 25 cents a night, could escape for a time the horrors of war and renew their spirits on Island Hospitality. It was also during this time that the United States military pressed into service the great old white ships of the Matson Line as troop carriers. After the war came an explosion of tourism with the advent of commercial airline flights from the United States. The trip that had once taken a week could now be completed in mere hours. Statehood came to Hawai'i in 1959, and phenomenal growth soon followed, which continues today with unbridled development on all islands. In the 1980's and '90's, Japanese investment in Hawai'i made this tiny archipelago at the crossroads of the Pacific a playground for the newly powerful yen. Even with the development and loss of much of its scenic splendor, Hawai'i still retains that magic known as aloha. I know it has for me. Even though I have tried to escape from its hold several times, I find myself returning yet again to these magical islands. It is my pleasure to share with you Hawai'i and Hawaiian treasures of a bygone era. Aloha, -Mark A. Blackburn- Hilo, Hawaii 1997 *taken from: "Hawaiiana, The Best of Hawaiian Design" by Mark Blackburn