Hawaii's first English language newspaper... volume 1, number 4...
Item # 719730
August 20, 1836
SANDWICH ISLAND GAZETTE & JOURNAL OF COMMERCE, Honolulu, Oahu, Aug. 20, 1836
* Very rare publication
* 1st English language
This was the very first English language newspaper published in Hawaii, known as the Sandwich Islands at that time. It is the volume 1, number 4 issue. It was preceded by only two Hawaiian language newspapers, which began in 1834, with this title being the first English-language newspaper printed in the Hawaiian Islands - and the first to include commercial advertising.
The newspaper contained interesting accounts of trade, ships entering the harbor, and daily life. As Hawaii's first commercial journalism venture, it did job printing. The editor was Bostonian Stephen S. MacIntosh, who opposed the policies of the Protestant mission and advocated religious toleration.
Four pages, never bound nor trimmed, wide margins, very nice condition.
background: The Sandwich Island Gazette & Journal of Commerce, established by the entrepreneurial Stephen S. Mackintosh in 1836, represents a pivotal shift in the cultural and economic landscape of the Hawaiian Kingdom. As the islands’ first English-language periodical and its inaugural commercial journalism venture, it broke the monopoly held by missionary-run Hawaiian language papers like Ka Lama Hawaii, introducing a secular, merchant-focused perspective to the burgeoning port of Honolulu. Mackintosh, a Bostonian with a sharp editorial wit, used the four-page weekly not only to record the vital "shipping intelligence" of the Pacific whaling fleet but also as a platform to challenge the austere socio-religious influence of the Protestant mission, advocating instead for a more liberal policy of religious toleration and trade. Because it was printed on high-quality rag paper and often circulated among a transient maritime population, finding a pristine, untrimmed, and unbound issue—replete with the era's first printed advertisements for everything from dry goods to naval supplies—offers a rare, unmediated window into the daily life and political friction of Hawaii during its transformation into a global crossroads.
* Very rare publication
* 1st English language
This was the very first English language newspaper published in Hawaii, known as the Sandwich Islands at that time. It is the volume 1, number 4 issue. It was preceded by only two Hawaiian language newspapers, which began in 1834, with this title being the first English-language newspaper printed in the Hawaiian Islands - and the first to include commercial advertising.
The newspaper contained interesting accounts of trade, ships entering the harbor, and daily life. As Hawaii's first commercial journalism venture, it did job printing. The editor was Bostonian Stephen S. MacIntosh, who opposed the policies of the Protestant mission and advocated religious toleration.
Four pages, never bound nor trimmed, wide margins, very nice condition.
background: The Sandwich Island Gazette & Journal of Commerce, established by the entrepreneurial Stephen S. Mackintosh in 1836, represents a pivotal shift in the cultural and economic landscape of the Hawaiian Kingdom. As the islands’ first English-language periodical and its inaugural commercial journalism venture, it broke the monopoly held by missionary-run Hawaiian language papers like Ka Lama Hawaii, introducing a secular, merchant-focused perspective to the burgeoning port of Honolulu. Mackintosh, a Bostonian with a sharp editorial wit, used the four-page weekly not only to record the vital "shipping intelligence" of the Pacific whaling fleet but also as a platform to challenge the austere socio-religious influence of the Protestant mission, advocating instead for a more liberal policy of religious toleration and trade. Because it was printed on high-quality rag paper and often circulated among a transient maritime population, finding a pristine, untrimmed, and unbound issue—replete with the era's first printed advertisements for everything from dry goods to naval supplies—offers a rare, unmediated window into the daily life and political friction of Hawaii during its transformation into a global crossroads.
Item from last month's catalog - #364 - released for March, 2026.
Category: Pre-Civil War
