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December 21 2000 - 150th Anniversary of the Opening of the First Post Office in Hawai'i.

A set of two stamps and a mini-sheet were issued on December 21st 2000 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the first Post Office in Hawai'i.

Appointed around December 1st 1850 as the first Postmaster of Hawai'i, Henry M.Whitney (shown on the $5 stamp, above right) opened the first Hawai'i Post Office on December 21st 1850. As no Post Office building existed at the time, the office was located inside the 3-story Customs House on the Honolulu Harbor. You can see the building very clearly in the center of the $8 minisheet (below). The only cancelling device Postmaster Whitney had, was a 2-line postmark (shown on the $3 stamp, above left) which was mostly struck in black ink, but sometimes in dark blue ink. There were no stamps. The "Missionaries" as the first Hawai'i stamps are called, were not issued until October 1st 1851 - almost a year later. The postage rate paid was handwritten in ink, usually on the upper right hand side of the envelope. Overseas postage rates were very high. For example, a letter from Hawai'i to New York would have been 42c - a large sum of money in those days. (2c was the ship Captain's fee and 40c the transcontinental rate.) However, mail between and within the islands of Hawai'i was free until 1859.

The $5 stamp (above right) prepays the Overnight rate. It shows a photo of Henry M. Whitney - the first postmaster of Hawai'i. The denomination shown - 'Elima Kala - is Hawaiian for $5. The photo is courtesy of the Hawai'i State Archives.

The $3 stamp (above left) plus the $5 stamp prepay the Same Day rate. The $3 stamp shows the upper left portion of an envelope with a 2-line postmark in black ink dated Dec. 21, 1850. (although no existing cover is known bearing this date - what a find that would be !!) The background has portions of a Missionary letter describing their voyage around the Cape and arrival in Hawai'i.

The $8 Mini-sheet (below) prepays the Same Day rate. The Mini-sheet shows part of an engraving on stone by C.H. Burgess made of Honolulu Harbor in 1857 and is probably mostly how the scene looked in December 1850. The 3-story Customs House (in which the first Post Office was located) is clearly shown in the center of the minisheet. The engraving is courtesy of the Hawai'i State Archives.

Technical details of the stamps and mini-sheet:
Colors: $3 and $5 stamps & $8 mini-sheet - multi-colored
Size: 32mm x 48mm (stamps). 84mm x 70mm (mini-sheet).
Stamps sheet size: 30 (6 across, 5 down)
Perforation: Both stamps are perforated 12. The $8 mini-sheet is imperforate.
Stamps and Mini-sheet design: Enelani.
Layout & Pre-press: Enelani.
Printer: Hawai'i Security Printers, Honolulu, Hawai'i.
Printing Method: 4-color (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) printing process.
Sheet margin markings: HAWAI'I POST (top middle), "Traffic Light" showing 4 colors used in printing (lower left side), © 2000 Hawai'i Post (lower right side) & Hawai'i Security Printers, Honolulu, Hawai'i. (bottom middle)
Paper: GPA coated white stock with water-activated gum on the back.