March 27, 2006
MEDIA CONTACT: Caroline Witherspoon
or Jocelyn Collado
Becker Communications
(808) 533-4165
MUSEUM RECEIVES DONATION FROM FORMER COUNCILMEMBER FELIX
HONOLULU – Bishop Museum has received a donation from former Honolulu Councilmember and current Vice Chairman of Best Bridal Inc., John Henry Felix, including $300,000 for improvements to the Museum’s Hawai‘i Maritime Center and several items for the Museum’s Library and Archive collection.
Located on Pier 7 on historic Honolulu Harbor, the Hawai‘i Maritime Center celebrates Hawaii’s rich maritime history through exhibits, displays, and rare maritime artifacts. As a sister institution of Bishop Museum, the Hawai‘i Maritime Center offers visitor a look back at Hawaii’s extensive maritime history – from its discovery by Polynesian navigators 1500 years ago, to contact with western culture, to the effects of whaling.
The donation includes a copy of the first complete Bible to be published in the Hawaiian language for the museum’s library. Printed in three sections and bound into one notably thick volume of over 2,000 pages, this historic Bible dates from 1838.
Also contributed is a set of seven ink drawings of intriguing, but slightly mysterious, origin. All are based on the work of John Webber, the artist who accompanied Captain James Cook on his third voyage. They go together in a single series, but while each one bears a date of August 1784, they are signed with varying initials: “E.W.”, “C.W.”, and “Mc.W.” When the first account of Cook’s voyage was published in England in June 1784, beautifully engraved versions of Webber’s illustrations were included. The donated pictures were copied from these engravings, just a few months after they were released.
“We are honored to receive such significant gifts from Mr. Felix,” remarked Bill Brown, President and CEO of Bishop Museum. “His gifts will be treasured and preserved in our collection for generations to come.”
Bishop Museum’s Library is one of the most comprehensive collections of books, periodicals, newspapers, and special collections related to Hawai‘i and the Pacific. The Archives feature an extensive collection of studies done by Museum staff in the Pacific Basin, alongside an impressive collection of photographs, manuscripts, artwork, oral histories, commercial sound recordings and maps. Both are located on the 2nd floor of Pākī Hall at the Kalihi Campus and are open from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays (except on holiday weekends). Access to the Library and Archives is free. Bishop Museum members receive a 10% discount on select services (photocopying, scanning, and more).