[The following account was first published in The Postage Stamp (June 1913).]

As we have noted on several occasions there is an active philatelic life in the Territory of Hawaii. The latest development in the activities of the Hawaiian Philatelic Society is the inauguration of an annual philatelic show or exhibition, the first of which was opened on Thursday, May 8th. For accounts of this show we are indebted to Mr. John Gribble, J.P.S. From the newspaper and other newspaper reports and other details sent by Mr. Gribble we take the following interesting account. :-

The Hobby for Honolulu.
To divert their minds from the strenuous callings of the professions, Edison reads dime novels, Kitchener
of Khartoum and Thibet Sums and Ames, the millionaire ploughshare manufacturer of Massachusetts, breed orchids, but here in Honolulu the tired business and professional man has found diversion in a new hobby. It is the first annual exhibition of collections of foreign and local stamps which was held yesterday from early afternoon until nine-thirty o’clock last evening in the Games Hall of the Y.M.C.A. building under the auspices of the Hawaiian Philatelic Society.

A Great Honolulu Collection.
Demand and supply govern the value of rare stamps. The supply yesterday was so great that the place of exhibit had of necessity to be changed from Cooke Hall to the Games Hall, which was none too large to accommodate the fourteen long tables upbearing over 20,000 stamps. Bound stamp books were torn apart. by the enthusiasm in order that the sheets of stamps might be viewed by the public.

Charles Hustace, Jr., put on exhibit almost his entire thirty-thousand dollar collection, the native stamps of which are without equal anywhere in the world. One single glass placard was the property of A. F. Cooke which he had placed on show at the Alaska-Yukon Exposition in Seattle.

There were ten cant stamps from Bolivia which went in half and each half fastened to different envelopes so as to split their value to that of five cents. But the most interesting collection to local persons was the native collection of Charles Hustace, Jr.

Local Interest In the “Missionaries.”
Last night people stood three deep about these tables. The “Hawaiian Missionaries” were the center of interest.” They are stamps of the vintage of 1852. They were printed by H. M. Whitney, who had a store here in the days long remote to the provisional government. Errors were made in the printing of them, like the wrong dotting of an “i”, the misplacement of a period, or the inverting of surcharged lettering. But this, instead of lessening their value, only makes them more priceless in the collectors’ eyes. They are like spots in orchids: all make for individuality and rarity.

The old stamps of Hawaii are among the rarest in the world. The three stamps of the “Hawaiian Missionary” collection are worth something over four thousand dollars. The only stamp remaining that would complete this list is a two cent “Missionary”, only twelve copies of which are extant, the one in the Bishop Museum being valued around the seven thousand-dollar mark.

Altogether the exhibit is calculated in value about seventy thousand dollars. This does not with compare with M. Ferrary’s collection in Paris, which is estimated to be worth several million dollars. But there is not one stamp in the collection which is worth less than five cents more than its face value. Some are worth ten dollars. Others a hundred and a few into the four-figure mark.

An Earthquake Relic.
But how can one judge the personal value of a stamp which proved to be the last one to go through the mails of San Francisco prior to the earthquake and fire? One there is in the exhibit which is postmarked, “San Francisco, April 18, 1906-6 a.m.” The cataclysm took place at 5.08 a.m. – eight minutes later, which may account for the fact that Mr. W. C. Peacock did not receive the letter until the eighth day of the following month.

The judges of the free exhibit are Messrs. Olaus Blackstad, Arthur Linnemann, G. P. Wilder and Job Batchelor. The officials of the Hawaiian Philatelic Society are: John Gribble, president; W. C. Parke, vice-president; A. C. O. Linnemann, secretary; B. F. Beardmore, treasurer. The following were among those awarded prizes:-

The List of Prize Winners.
For the most interesting North American Collection –
John Gribble.
Hawaiian Errors – CHARLES HUSTACE, JR.
Great Britain – JOHN GRIBBLE.
African Issues – JOHN GRIBBLE.
Canada – JOHN GRIBBLE.
Best King’s Heads – CHARLES HUSTACE, JR.
General Asia – K. P. EMORY.
Stamps of the Issue of 1893 – A. F. COOKE.
New Zealand – C. MAXWELL.
Canal Zone – W. L. MONSARRAT.
Portugal – JAMES CAMPBELL.
Europe – L . THURSTON, JR.