A Memory before Annexation
This cover belongs to a very brief and fragile moment in Hawaiian postal history.
In 1897, Hawaii was neither a kingdom nor an American territory. It was the Republic of Hawaii – a short political interval between overthrow and annexation.
It was mailed in 1897, just before Hawaii was annexed by the United States and before its postal system was absorbed into the American system.
Everything on the envelope matters: the stamps, the Honolulu postmarks, the handwriting, the single address, and the quiet evidence that one person in Honolulu once sent a message to another.
It is a private human record preserved from a short-lived political world – the Republic of Hawaii, standing between the fallen kingdom and the coming American territory.
That is the strange beauty of a letter. A small envelope can carry a memory farther than the person who wrote it ever imagined.
Perhaps that is the true power of mail.
Memories are the folded into an envelope: once a stamp is placed, its begin its journey.
A Short Postal History Told by Four Hawaii Scott #75 Stamps
Four 2cents stamps paid a total of eight cents- far more than the ordinary single letter rate of the period.
This letter was delivered within downtown Honolulu, and the local drop letter at the time was only 2cents.
The eight cents franking may indicate a heavier enclosure, or it may reflect an philatelic use.
Without the contents, we can not know for certain. But visually the result is unforgettable.
Either way, the result is memorable. The same harbor appears four times across the top of the envelope, like a repeated window into Honolulu before annexation.
Just sixteen months later, Hawaii would be annexed by the United States on August 12, 1898.
The Simple Address on the Cover is Interesting
The recipient’s address is strikingly simple. “Mr. A R Hatfield, Honolulu” > No street, no building , no postal code< In a small island community, a name could still be enough.
The name A. R Hatfield appears in late 1890s Honolulu news paper records including the Hawaiian Gazette. Back in 1897, he was known as a local cricket player and a volunteer of the Honolulu Home Guard.
Simply put, he was an active ordinary citizen of Honolulu.
A possible “flying goose?
There is one small detail that caught my eye.
On the right side of the stamp design, in the sky above mountain , I seem to see a tiny mark that looks like a flying bird what some collectors might describe as a possible ” flying goose” variety or printing flaw.
I am not certain.
It may simply be an ink irregularity , paper toning, a cancellation mark, or a small accident from the printing process.
On early engraved and printed stamps, tiny differences can appear from plate wear , ink pressure, paper condition or later handling .
But to my eye the shape is curious enough to mention
Still, this is one of the pleasure of postal history: sometimes the smallest mark invites a question.
If any specialist in Hawaiian stamps or the scott #75 Honolulu Harbor issue happens to read this post I would be grateful to hear your opinion.
For now I leave it as a small mystery in the sky above Honolulu Harbor.
Leave a Reply