AN ENGLISH-HAWAIIAN DICTIONARY; With Various Useful Tables: Prepared for the Use of Hawaiian-English Schools
San Francisco: The Bancroft Company, 1887. First Edition. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author to William De Witt Alexander (1833-1913), the noted educator, author, and linguist in the Kingdom of Hawaii, on a prefatory blank leaf, with Alexander’s pencil notes opposite the chronological table at the rear.
Harvey Rexford Hitchcock, Jr. (1835-91) was the son of a Massachusetts missionary who arrived in Hawaii during the summer of 1832. The younger Hitchcock published this dictionary of the Hawaiian language while principal of Lahainaluna School, in an effort to teach Hawaiians the English language. Prior to its publication, he served in the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Hawaii, from 1862 through 1870.
Octavo: 256 p. with the text double column. In an early 20th century blue cloth binding, with blank leaves (Kenilworth watermark) inserted between the text leaves, presumably for note taking, and new endpapers. The contents are toned, with some occasional light foxing and a bit of chipping to the corners of the prefatory and concluding leaves. Scarce. Item #74406
Price: $800.00