Hawaiian Nature Notes

Hawaiian Nature Notes
by E. H. Bryan
Adopted by
Rick and Kay Tuttle Hancock
in honor of Elsie E. Tuttle, book and nature lover in Hawaii
on February 15, 2019
Cover of Hawaiian Nature Notes

Hawaiian nature notes

By E. H. Bryan. Honolulu: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1933.

This slim volume of Hawaii’s natural history was compiled when Hawaii was still a territory of the United States (Hawaii became a state in 1961.).  Written in an accessible style, it positively brims with information about Hawaii from the formation of its volcanos and history of its indigenous people to the cellular make-up of the Portuguese Man-of-War and the destructive quality of Hawaiian rats.  Each of the fifty entries were originally published as a series of weekly articles in the Honolulu Advertiser from April 1932 to April 1933.  Most are accompanied by drawings and feature bibliographies. Enhancing the allure of this book is the unique place it holds in the Smithsonian’s history.  According to the book plate inside, it was owned by the Sixth Secretary of the Smithsonian, Alexander Wetmore, who, in addition to guiding the Smithsonian Libraries through the Great Depression and World War II, was one of America’s leading avian paleontologists.  Sectretary Wetmore has signed the copy just above the author's signature on the front page.

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Adoption Type: Build and Access the Collection