I know I said I was done with the Hawaii posts, but I lied. So sue me.
On Saturday afternoon, I found 3 issues of Paradise of the Pacific Magazine from 1956 and 1957, along with a 1966 souvenir hotel guide called Here's Hawaii, buried in a dusty pile of travel periodicals at a local antique mall. They're chockablock with great graphic design (like the cover shown on the left), gorgeous island photography, fascinating articles on Hawaiian history and culture, and advertisments from classic tiki establishments such as Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic's. The "People In Paradise" section of Paradise magazine has photos of Hollywood stars like Dick Powell, Robert Mitchum, Spencer Tracy, and Joan Collins getting lei'd at the airport.
Desirous of uncovering a bit more of the provenance of these fine publications, I did some research, and it turns out that Paradise in the Pacific is one of the longest-running periodicals in the U.S. According to this historical blurb on the website of Honolulu Magazine, it was chartered by royal decree:
"In 1888, when Hawai'i was still a monarchy, King Kalakaua commissioned a magazine under royal charter to be Hawai'i's ambassador to the world. That magazine was Paradise of the Pacific. For nearly a century, Paradise of the Pacific promoted local business and tourism by assuring citizens of the United States that the Islands were civilized. In 1966, Paradise of the Pacific became Honolulu Magazine and shifted focus dramatically. No longer would it be Hawai'i's ambassador to the outside world. Instead, it became a magazine by and for the people of the Islands."
I'd been meaning to create an image gallery of scans from my Hawaiiana collection, so finding these mags seemed to signal that I should get off my kiester and do it. Besides, I was down with a nasty respiratory bug yesterday, so I didn't have anything better to do. Without further ado, let me present my latest collection of retroimagery:
Vintage Hawaiiana! [Link]
