The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-09-02
OREGON PRESS IS
NOT THE PIONEER
Was Not Used in Hawaii. Be.
cause Type Font Was Very
Shy on "a and *"

Prof Howard 81 nallou. College Of
Hawaii. who has delved deep into the
archives Of the Territory, is authority
for the statement that the dates men
toned 10 cohncetion with the display Of
printing press in the rooms Of the
Oregon Historical Society In Portland.
a press which was sent to Oregon from
Honolulu In the 3Os during the last
century, are not altogether correct. In
The Advertiser of Wednesday is story
about this famous press. George w.
Smith. who recently returned from
Puget Sound, saw the press and states
that the plaeard hanging to the press
sets forth that il was sent TO Honolulu
from Boston in 1919, consigned TO the
board Of missions, and was sent TO the
Sound in 1889. s,o
Mr.. Ballou and Mr.. Smith had talk
yesterday concerning the dates, and Mr..
Ballou states that when he saw the
same press and plaeard in August the
placard did not contain the dates men,
toned by Mr.. Smith. Mr.. Smith has
written the Oregon Historical Society
to ascertain whether or not the placard
from which he obtained his dates was
there where he is certain he saw it,
and if another placard was ON it when
Mr.. Ballou visited the rooms Mr.. Bal.
LOUIS statement is as follows
1.-The facts concerning the little
printing press in the rooms of the Ore
gon Historical Society in Portland, de-
scribed by George w. Smith in yester-
days Advertiser, were ascertained by
me from original documents in the
archives of the A. b. G.. F. NJ. in Bos.
ton and set forth in the fourteenth
paper of the Hawaiian Historical So.
ciety, published in 1908.
The impression had always pre-.
vailed that the press was the original
Hawaiian printing outfit, brought by
the pioneer missionaries on the Thad.
deus and set up in August, 1920, in one
of their grass houses, and it was ex-
hibited as such at the Portland EXPOSE.
tion.
| Gas described by E. o. Hall in a
letter dated January &c. 1889, the press
was small hand card press, a dona.
| ton to the mission, which came out
/ to Hawaii with the sixth reinforce.
ment in the ship Hellespont, arriving
June 6, 1886.
'It was never used in Hawaii, but
in 1889 was put in order, and together
with a new font of type, of little use
to our missionaries through lack of a
sufficient number of the letters 'a' and
* for the printing of Hawaiian, was
presented to the Oregon mission.
Mr.. Spalding had suggested that
he should send ON a man from Oregon
to he instructed in printing, but it was
| finally decided that as the health of
Mrs. Hall necessitated her temporary
sojourn in cooler climate, ard as Mr..
Hall could well be spared for a while,
that it would be best to send him to
Oregon for year to set up the printing
establishments there and instruct those
designated to carry on the work.
HHe left Honolulu March 2, 1889,
arriving at Fort Wallawalla, May 8, on
his way to Mr.. Spalding's station at
Clearwater River, 125 miles further on,
which he reached March IA.
"The press was soon set up and a
little book of twenty pages, five and
One-eighth by four and three-quarter
inches, which had been prepared by
Mrs. Spalding was printed in the Nez
Perces language, the first book printed
on the continent west of the Rocky
Mountains.
"Copies of this little book, which is
entitled, 'Nez Perces First Book; de-
signed for children and new beginners.
Clear Water: mission press: 1889,
are known to me only in the libraries
of the A. b. C. F. NJ. in Boston, Mr. E.
E. Aver of Chicago and Mr.. WILDER
force Eames of New York. The Oregon
Historical Society unfortunately does
not possess one.
fThough not the first Hawaiian
press, it is undisputedly the pioneer
press of Oregon Territory and well de.
serves its honored place among the
many relics of the early days of Oregon
that have been collected in the rooms
of the Oregon Historical Society"