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RPPC of Pier 7, Alakea Wharf, Honolulu, Hawaii

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Real Photo Postcard, unused. AKO stamp box. Circa 1924 – 1930. Photo image circa late 1910s.

Price:  $15.00   (As is – note the pieces of the postcard missing from the left corner and bottom border.)

Two steamers (names unknown) flank Honolulu’s Pier 7 and a portion of a third is visible on our left.

A few thoughts…..

I keep thinking someone should write a book about the history of this particular wharf, or maybe better yet, about all of the Honolulu wharves. (Alas, that can’t be me.) It’s just that in researching old newspaper accounts and searching Google books, etc., I’m hit with that poignant feeling of something having been forgotten. So much to re-learn so-to-speak….thinking of how Hawaii was such a crossroads, a stopover for ships from all over the world…..Mention of the wharf shows up in thousands of articles, too many to delve into, but we’ll include some of them here that will tell part of the story. (And I don’t know how you’ll feel, but I’d like to time-travel back to that masquerade ball in 1910).

About our postcard:

The photo used for this card was definitely taken earlier than 1924:  Another RPPC was found online of the same view that was postmarked 1921. That particular postcard had been mislabeled as the subject of a New York City pier. (Correction submitted August 2024.) It really goes to show how crucial it is to always look at the details, because when you click to enlarge the image, you’ll see the wording “Alakea Wharf” spelled out just a little below “Pier 7″……and Alakea Wharf was located in Honolulu, Hawaii:

Our postcard date estimate comes from the excellent Playle’s website, which identifies this particular AZO stamp box, (on the reverse) with its squares in each corner, as being from 1924 – 1949, however it’s probable that the card was produced in the 1920s. But, getting back to when the actual photo for the card was taken – I’d say mid-to-late 1910s, due to the look of the clothing styles. The car in the photo would be the best reference but it’s proving difficult to get a model and year for it since a crop of the vehicle is not very clear.

A little history from newspapers and books. Backtracking to 1893 – Alakea Street and the Pacific Mail Wharf:

Summer of 1907, Alakea Street Wharf completed

Alakea Wharf was named after its location, Alakea Street, which runs perpendicular to the waterfront. (It’s unclear whether it actually intersected.) From what we surmise from the article above, the Alakea Wharf appears to have replaced the Pacific Mail Wharf. Bidding for the new pier’s construction started in April 1906 and the work was completed around June or July of 1907:

Exterior and interior photo of the newly constructed wharf building, 1907 – from Governor Carter’s report for the fiscal year ending June 1907 (printed 1907). Note the lack of  “Pier 7” signage:

Below, February 1910, when the Elks Club put on their carnival and masquerade ball:

September 1910, Prince Tsai Hsun arrives in Honolulu: 

Heavy security at Alakea Wharf. Below, a couple of clips from a long account. The “knothole” referred to the press’ restrictions in attending a meeting that took place on board ship with officials and dignitaries.  

August, 1912. Friction starts a fire:

November 1912, discharged cargo holding up ships:

Name change – Alakea Street Wharf becomes Pier 7 in 1914:

On January 6, 1914, the Board of Harbor Commissioners unanimously voted that each of the nineteen Honolulu wharves should be called by a number. (There were twenty if you count Piers 5 and 5a as two separate entities.) See Maritime Hawai’i’s web post in sources.

Opium tins and an elusive diamond ring in, “Placer Mining in Honolulu.” Below, a portion of the January 1921 write-up:

March, 1922. During Prohibition drinkers on board ship were toasting those below stuck in “dry-dock.”

Pier 7 today, 1988 – 2024

Today, the structure that was the Alakea Wharf/Pier 7 as it appeared in our postcard is no longer there. Pier 7 exists, but certainly, (as one would expect decades later) not in the same capacity. When was the original building renovated or replaced? The answer would be in newspaper accounts, but the more recent decades in Newspapers.com are restricted due to copyright legalities. (Access to those years costs extra per month and are out of my price range.)

From 1988 – 2009, Pier 7 housed the Hawaii Maritime Center.

Falls of Clyde docked at Pier 7:

For some decades (start date not found) Pier 7 has been home to the historic vessel, Falls of Clyde. Built in 1878, she’s iron-hulled, four-masted full-rigged and is the last of her kind. She was registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1989, but unfortunately had to be unregistered in 2024, due to condition issues. See the prior link (Wikipedia) and this 2023 KITV news article for her proposed fate.

Sources:  “Real Photo Postcard Stamp Boxes. A-B. https://www.playle.com/realphoto/photoa.php (accessed July 19, 2024).

“Honolulu’ New Dock.” Hawaii Herald. April 6, 1906. Thursday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Carter to Return In July.” Hawaii Herald. May 23, 1907. Thursday, p. 3. (Newspapers.com).

“Late Wireless News.” Hawaii Herald. February 23, 1910. Wednesday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Alakea Wharf” and “Interior of Alakea Wharf Shed.” Report of the Governor of Hawaii to the Secretary of the Interior for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30 1907. Washington:  Government Printing Office. (1907). Google.com/books. 

“Prince Tsai Hsun Reaches America.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. September 14, 1910. Wednesday, p. 1. (Newspapers.com).

“Sulphurous Fumes Start A Stampede.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. August 28, 1912. Wednesday, p. 12. (Newspapers.com).

“Discharged Cargoes Choke All Honolulu Wharves And Make Proper Berthing Of Ships A Problem.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. November 15, 1912. Friday, p. 16. (Newspapers.com).

“From Names to Numbers.” December 23, 2020. maritimehawaii.com. (Accessed August 1, 2024.)

“Captain Berger Will Have A Busy Week.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. January 10, 1914. Saturday, p. 6. (Newspapers.com).

“Placer Mining in Honolulu.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. January 28, 1921. Friday, p. 7. (Newspapers.com).

“Nothing to Brag About.” Honolulu Star-Advertiser. March 12, 1922. Sunday, p. 48. (Newspapers.com).

Hawaii Maritime Center. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii_Maritime_Center (accessed August 19, 2024).

Falls of Clyde (ship). n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_of_Clyde_(ship) (accessed August 17, 2024).

Drewes, Paul. (2023, June 28). “State wants Falls of Clyde to go, to revitalize Honolulu Harbor pier.” Island News, kitv.com.

Ruins in Old Panama City

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Old photo, white border. Circa 1931 – mid-1930’s.

Price:  $10.00        Size:  2 and 5/8 x 4 and 3/8″

This photo’s reverse shows,  “Castle in Old Panama City destroyed by Morgan the pirate.” It was year 1671 when the city was sacked by Morgan’s forces, as part of the Anglo-Spanish War, and perhaps “castle” is not quite the correct term – the Wikipedia entry has “cathedral.”  Morgan was Welsh-born privateer Henry Morgan who later became Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica.

Panama Viejo or Old Panama was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Ocean, and dates back to 1519. Today, located in the eastern suburbs of Panama City, it’s a major tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I was guessing 1920’s or early ’30’s for this photo but a couple of forum readers at the Antique Automobile Club of America narrowed it down for us. The car is a 1931 Chevy, so the photo’s ’31 through probably the mid-’30’s.

Sources:  Panamá Viejo. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panam%C3%A1_Viejo (accessed September 8, 2023).

“Old Car from the 1920’s or ’30’s. Help to i.d.” September 5, 2023. Antique Automobile Club of America. (https://forums.aaca.org/topic/403154-old-car-from-the-1920s-or-30s-help-to-id/#comment-2578340).

Henry Morgan. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morgan (accessed September 8, 2023).

Summer in the City

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Vintage photo, white border. June 1961

Price: $4.00            Size:  5 x 3 and 1/2″

It’s been a long, cold winter here in rural Nevada. This unassuming city scene transports me back to the city, and hot summer days…..

The location is unknown, but I’m picturing Southern California for this candid snapshot – a handsome black guy in white t-shirt, waiting for his ride to roll up a little further, and he’ll pull the handle and get in. Just my interpretation. Behind him a “For Rent” sign sitting in the corner of a building with tiled facade. That side reflects a hill and what looks like a house with car in driveway, and some kind of building next to it. The other window reflects “Thomas Floors”  and “Floor Coverings” and something after that which is unreadable. (A nice trick with reading backwards lettering is taking a quick shot of what’s been enlarged on the monitor and holding it up to a mirror. Just a nice common-sense thing that anyone would think of right away, but fun, because it’s instant and it works.) Nothing was found online for Thomas Floors, though. Sometimes we get lucky, sometimes we don’t.

Happy Kid in 1950 Buick

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Old photo, white border. February 1951.

Price:  $7.00             Size:  About 4 and 5/8 x 3 and 1/4″

Written on the back,  “Feb. 1951.”

A great shot of a young boy (we’re already thinking 1950’s with that striped shirt, right?) in the driver’s seat of this beastly-looking vehicle 😉 ……a 1950 Buick Special, and he’s looking back at the camera with a big grin. On the driver’s side quarter panel we can just about make out the lettering Dynaflow, which was Buick terminology for an automatic transmission.

Regarding the exact model, for comparison see:  Hometown Buick’s 1950 Buick Special Jetback Coupe – Model 46, and 1950 Buick Special Jetback Sedanet – Model 46S. I think it’s either of these. It’s a little hard to tell because of the angle in our photo and the back end being cut off.

Sources:  Dynaflow. n.d. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynaflow#:~:text=The%20Dynaflow%20was%20an%20

automatic,two%20forward%20speeds%20plus%20reverse. (accessed March 13, 2023).

“1950 Buick Special Jetback Coupe – Model 46” and “1950 Buick Special Jetback Sedanet – Model 46S.” hometownbuick.com. (accessed March 13, 2023).

Young Woman and Old 1928 Chevy

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Old photo, white border. Circa 1930s – 1940s.

Price:  $3.00        Size:  About 2 and 3/4 x 4 and 1/2″

Another unknown person, no i.d. on the back. (Why do I keep buying them? I don’t know. Just like them, I guess.)  But there’s always something to learn from an old photo or postcard. And it was fun to try to discern the license plate info. If we could go back in time and “run the plate,” since the numbers are so easily read 🙂 …..Anyway, at the bottom left, I think that reads 32, as in the year 1932. After that, geez, I’m lost. Every time I look at the enlargement I see something different (rather an interesting phenomena).  As for the make and year, the geniuses at the Forum page of the Antique Automobile Club of America have helped us out again. (I really can’t say enough about these people.) So, the car is a 1928 Chevy; that’s possibly a “pancake” horn to the right of the plate; and the two identical objects above the plate are – you might have guessed by that sense of “in flight” and feathers look – a pair of Mobile Oil Pegasuses (for decoration).

As for the young lady who posed so charmingly for this snapshot – as stated, no name, but she’s standing, hands behind back, smiling, hair side-parted and bobbed, wearing a pale-striped dress, belted at the waist and flat shoes with bobby socks. Her “backdrop” is a massive stone wall, part of some type of structure, maybe even a covered bridge; we can see part of a roof or awning. And there’s our Chevy, peering out from the side of the building. 😉

Sources:  Google search “1928 chevrolet car images front end.” Accessed March 12, 2023.

Google search “mobile oil pegasus.” Accessed March 12, 2023.

A Simoan Tribute

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Vintage photo, white border, circa mid 1930s – mid-1950s.

Price:  $12.00            Size:  3 and 11/16 x 2 and 1/2″

The car…..

We look to the car in this photo for a jumping off point for approximate date. I was struck by the unusual-looking hubcaps and asked the hubby who stated the hubcap is the round center part, the rest is rim, maybe a 3-piece rim and they look painted, and it’s probably a Ford…..I was then checking Ford convertibles with rumble seats (you see it sticking up in the back minus the padding) but getting frustrated for pinpointing the year. No prob though, whenever I get stuck I go to the Antique Automobile Club of America forum readers for help. (Great people, lightning-quick, detailed responses, awesome!) And yes, it’s a Ford, likely with painted rims. Here is one of the responses below:

“Definitely a Model A Ford roadster – you can see the corner of the windshield behind the guy’s left shoulder.  The shape of the fenders and the bead on the hood above the louvers makes it a 1930 or 31.  However, the headlights might be 28 – 29 as they look a little pointy on the back.  30 – 31 are rounded.  It might be a DeLuxe as rumble seat was standard on those, although it was optional on Standards.  The back cushion is easily removed and yes, it’s missing.  The artillery wheels are similar to 36 – 39 Ford but I think they’re aftermarket.  They probably are composed of separate parts but welded and/or riveted into one piece (not counting the removable hubcap).  Yes, they probably were painted and the contrasting painted trim on the spokes was common on those style wheels.”

Gannon……

The dark-haired young man, about age 25 we’ll guess, is wearing a grass skirt (!) and posing for the camera. At first glance it kind of looks like the entire “Samoa” banner is part of his outfit and he unfolded it like a cape (or unfurled his “wings”  – gotta give credit to a different forum commenter for the wings idea – love it! Credit also due to another person for wondering if, what I’m calling a banner, could be part of a “traditional ceremonial dance costume”. Good thought.) But anyway, I think the banner was attached at each end to the car…..Presumably, either the guy’s given or surname is Gannon, since this is written on the back. (Yes, Gannon does show up in some records as a first name.) And there’s too many possibilities to try to pinpoint Gannon, or at least not without days of research, but maybe he was born around 1925, entered the Navy and traveled the Pacific, stopping in Samoa. (Just a theory.) And, though this photo could be from maybe the mid-’30s, due to its aftermarket parts, my first thought is that it was mid-’40’s to mid-’50’s for when this snap was taken.

Lastly, and if you’ve stuck with me for this long 😉 ……

In the background we see a couple of small boats perched on land, a telephone pole, a wooden fence, and on our left, maybe a couple of other boats further in the distance. We note that car and man are on a cobblestone surface. Last but not least, we see the two other people “appearing” in this shot – one was the person taking the picture. They were there, but we only see their shadows. (I love this type of thing – the contribution to the image via the shadows.)

Source:  “Help to i.d. a convertible with rumble seat.” Posted in “What is it?” Response by CHuDWah posted October 7, 2023. forums.aaca.org.

Hotel Turpin Autobus, San Francisco

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Divided Back, used postcard. Postmarked July 23, 1916 from San Francisco, California. Stamp removed. Publisher:  Edward H. Mitchell. 

Price:  $12.00

Auto Bus meets trains and Steamers. Hotel Turpin Auto Bus. 17 Powell St. at Market, San Francisco, Cal. F. L. Turpin. A. W. Turpin.

This postcard was likely produced from a newspaper or magazine photo. Interesting that there are no women in this picture. Wonder what type of event it might have been? You have your businessmen on the left and some of the staff next to them; all the passengers and the driver of the bus are men, and then there’s the guy standing behind the bus. Note the suitcases on the running board. There’s a Touring Club of America sign on the hotel awning. And apparently there was a pool. The business next door was Kingsbury & Unger, (G. Kingsbury and F. Unger) a liquor store at 21 Powell St.

Addressed to:   “Mrs. Bell Brown, 1415 26th st, Bakersfield, Calif.”

The sender, Bell’s sibling, wrote:

“San Francisco, Calif. July 23rd – 1916. Dear Sister. I were in Stockton Friday. The land lady said she sent mail to the place I wrote to you from so I am going there tonight & will write from there.   M – “

Curiously, nothing definitive comes up in records when trying to find Bell (Belle). Nothing under Brown at this address in city directories. Maybe they were only there temporarily.

From the 1920 Federal Census for San Francisco, Edward H. Mitchell, postcard publisher, was born about 1869 in California, married to Idelle and they have three daughters, Gertrude, Bernice and Marion.

Sources:  H. S. Crocker Co.’s, San Francisco Directory, 1912, p. 963. Google book search.

Year: 1920; Census Place: San Francisco Assembly District 28, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_140; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 278. (Ancestry.com).

John B. Hawkins Street Scene RPPC, 1920s – 1930s

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Real Photo Postcard, divided back, unused. Circa 1920s – 1930s.  Made by:  John B. Hawkins, Marion, Massachusetts.

Price:  $12.00

This is possibly a Marion, Massachusetts, or neighboring town street view – showing a line of parked cars in front of stores, a man on our left about to cross the street, and another on our right, seated, at the curb. Surprisingly, we’re not finding any age-appropriate records for photographer John B. Hawkins, in all of Mass, though city directories online in Plymouth County (1910 – 1940) are only scattered pages of certain years. We’d therefor, have to contact a local historical society or local libraries for resolution to some of the mysteries herein. And, the image is not of the best quality for clarity, but may be of value to someone, for sure.

It’s disappointing to be unable to read the store names or signs after enlarging the image……Wait, we can just make out “Ice Cream” and the brand or shop name in two words…….but it’s indecipherable. (Sometimes if you gaze at almost-readable signs long enough, you get inspiration, but not happening for me, this time.) But still, every picture evokes a feeling….Staring at the scene (if we could just connect to a Hogwarts kind of thing, it would come to life and we’d see that guy actually cross the street, and maybe someone come out of one of the shops, and some movement from our friend on the right) but, primarily, in our “fixed moment” that the camera is offering, we might focus on that slightly dejected-looking gentleman, seated on the curb with head down, shoulders a little slumped – is he thinking about the cares of the day/month/year that are weighing on him……or is he just waiting for a ride? Whatever the case, he kind of makes you want to jump into the frame and go and offer him a friendly arm around the shoulders.

Boy In Tire, California 1929

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Old photo, decorative border, 1929.

Price:  $5.00          Size:  About 3 and 7/8 x 2 and 7/8″

Well, we know the place and year of this photo from the easily read license plate. (A definite departure from the usual norm of trying to “will” a plate into focus. 🙂 )

It’s an Art Deco design that frames this cute shot of a little boy sitting inside the upright spare (Goodyear) tire. He’s in overalls and wearing a couple of strands of beads, with a big smile and clutching something in one chubby hand. An adult, probably his dad, is in the background. As for the car – Model T Coupe? We’ll have to check with our go-to site for car questions, Antique Automobile Club of America. There is no writing on the back (though from a genealogy standpoint we feel like we’re looking at somebody’s grandpa, with great-grand in the back) but it’s a nice slice of Americana – back when the family car was also one of many play destinations for the kids.

Avenida Juárez, Guanajuato, México

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Vintage Mexican postcard, unused. Publisher info:  Ediciones Guanajuato – Jardin Union No. 5, Teléfono 2.87.- Guanajuato, Gto. Series G-202. Circa 1950s.

Price:  $10.00

Avenida Juárez, circa 1950s

A beauty of a card with all those colors. The central Mexican city of Guanajuato is surely one of the most colorful in the world! The large building with the rounded roof is Mercado Hidalgo, an enormous market for pretty much anything you would like to buy – produce, clothing, souvenirs, jewelry, etc. Built on the site of an old bullring, the building was initially designed to be a railway station. Construction started in 1905 and was finished in 1910, when the market’s grand opening coincided with the centennial celebrations of Mexico’s independence.

Source:  Diaz Cornejo, Mireya. “El Mercado Hidalgo de Guanajuato.” https://www.revistabuenviaje.com/conocemexico/viajemistico/mercado-hidalgo/mercado-hidalgo-guanajuato.php# (accessed April 15, 2022).