Nūpepa Kākau Lima—Handwritten Newspapers.
Cover Image: Masthead of The Amulet published on February 28, 1867.
Aloha Nūhou Monday!
When the desire to disseminate news hits you, but managing a press with type filled drawers is just not practical, there remains the option to produce a handwritten newspaper. And indeed there were a good number of Hawaiian language handwritten papers.
Although we have yet to find a copy of an actual handwritten Hawaiian language newspaper, we know they were out there. The reason we know this is because of commentary from other newspapers of the time—whether it was complimentary or derogatory.
Image: Handwritten Hawaiian language newspapers as reported in contemporary newspapers.
Does anyone know if copies of any of these still exist? Here at Bishop Museum Library & Archives, we have as of yet not found any example of a handwritten Hawaiian language newspaper. What we do have however are examples of a handwritten English newspaper as well as examples of a Japanese title.
Image: First page of the first issue of The Amulet, dated February 28, 1867. This handwritten weekly newspaper was edited by Laverna Allen and “devoted to the Cause of Temperance & Reform.”
Image: First page of the second issue of The Yamato, dated October 19, 1895. This handwritten paper was a semi-weekly periodical edited by Shintarō Anno.
This post is part of He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers, a partnership between Bishop Museum and Awaiaulu with assistance from Kamehameha Schools. Mahalo nui loa to Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support. Learn more about this project here.
