Japanese Tea Garden Bridge : Moanalua Park

Photographer Unknown

CountryUnknown

MediumGum Bichromate

PortfolioHawaiian Landscape | Japanese Garden Album

Year1900-1910

View Additional Information & Tags

Bridges, Flowers, Gardens, Hawaii, Landscape, Pond, Supports

Dimensions

Image Dimensions: 15.2 x 19.4 cm
Support Dimensions: Detail: 24.9 x 33.3 cm : 15.8 x 19.9 cm | photograph glued to black art-paper album leaf


Associated Highlights:

Aloha Circa 1900-1910 : Hawaiian Gum Bichromate Album


tissue guard present

Although it is our belief that all of the photographs from this album date to around 1904, based on the identified nighttime view of Market Street making up the final image in the album, it is also educational to note commercially available postcard views of this bridge were in circulation for many years afterwords. One shows the bridge in a much wider view-leading to a small island on the left featuring an impressive pagoda stone lantern. Another postcard version is titled on the recto 230 Moanalua Park, Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands. A postally-used example was sent in 1914. Another identical card was postmarked a year earlier in 1913 and titled on the recto Moanalua Tea Gardens, Honolulu. The tree behind the bridge in this particular postcard is of similar size to the tree seen in the photograph shown here, an indicator the card view was taken many years earlier-certainly as a way to promote tourism shortly after the gardens were established. Another different RPPC (real photo postcard) view which included just a portion of the end of the bridge has been observed with a postmark of 1911. In it, the vegetation around the bridge is immature, and the photo was most likely done when the garden was first planted-possibly as early as 1900. 

Several other snapshot views of this bridge dated 1911 can be seen in the L.P. George Photographic Album at the Kamehameha Schools online archives website.

Japanese Tea Garden Bridge : Moanalua Park