The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-09-01
OREGON PRESS IS
not The PIONEER
Was Not Used in Hawaii, Be,
cause Type Font Was Very
Shy on "a" and *"

Prof. Howard NJ RaIlou. College of
hawaii, who has delved deep into the
archives Of the Territory. is authority
for the statement that the dates men
toned in connection with the display of
a printing press in the rooms Of the
Oregon Historical Society in Portland
. press which was sent 10 Oregon from
| Honolulu in the 30s during the last
century, are not altogether correct. In
The Advertiser of Wednesday is story
about tgis famous press. George W.
Smith. who recently returned from
I Puget Sound, saw the press and states
I that the placard hanging TO the press
sets forth that it was sent to Honolulu
/ from Boston in 1919, consigned to the
! board Of missions, and was semi to the
Sound IN 1899.
/ Mr.. BalIou 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.
lou 5 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 ". Smith in vester
day Advertiser, were ascertained By
me from original documents in the
archives of the \. 3. c. F. NJ. in Bos
ton and set forth in the fourteenth
paper of the Hawaiian Historical So
ciety. published in 1905
1.-The impression had always pre-
vailed that the press was the origina
| 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 Fxposi
ton.
Gas described by f. o. Hall in q
letter dated January %. 1889, the pres:
was small hand card press. dona
ton to the mission, which came out
to Hawaii with the sixth reinforce
ment in the ship Hellespont, arriving
june 6. 1886.
cit was never used in Hawaii, bu
IN 1899 was put in order, and together
rwith a new font of type. of little ust
to our missionaries through lack of
sufficient number of the letters "a an(
k for the printing of Hawaiian, wa
presented to the Oregon mission.
"Mr Spalding had suggested tina
he should send on man from Oregon
to be instructed in printing. but it wa
finally decided that as the health o
Mrs. Hall necessitated her temporary
soiourn in a cooler climate, ard as Mr.
Hall could well be Spared for a while
that it would be best to send him t.
Oregon for a year to set up the printin!
establishments there and instruct thost
designated to carry on the work.
"He left Honolulu March 2, 1899
arriving a. Fort Wallawalla, May 8, oil
his way to Mr.. Spalding's station a
Clearwater River, 125 miles further on
which he reached March A.
: 1.-The press was soon set up and
little book of twenty pages. FIVE an
onc-eighrh by four and three-quarte
inches. which had been prepared b,
Mrs. Spalding was printed in the Ne
Perces language, the first book printed
on the continent west of the Rock.
Mountains
''Copies of this little book, which i
Lentitled, 'Nez Perces First Book; De
: signed for children and new beginners
- Clear Water: mission press: 1899
are known to me only in the ibrarie
of the A. r. {. F. NJ. in Boston, Mr.. +
F. Aver Of Chicago and Mr.. WILDER
:. force Eames Of New York. The Orego
! Historical Society unfortunately doe
> not possess one.
"Though not the first Hawaiia
press it is undisputedlv the pionee
press Of Oregon Territory and well DE-
, serves its honored place among tn
, many relies of the early days of Orego
= that have been collected in the room
of the Oregon Historical Society
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