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January 31st 2002 - 150th Anniversary of the First Hawai'i Paddle Steamship Passenger Service.
Two stamps were issued on January 31st 2002 to celebrate the Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary) of the First Hawai'i Paddle Steamship Passenger Service from Honolulu, O'ahu to Lahaina, Maui.
The $5 stamp (above right) prepays the Overnight rate.The $3 stamp (above left) plus the $5 stamp pays for the Same Day rate.
Both stamps show a map of the Hawaiian Islands from O'ahu to Maui, and a silhouette of the paddle steamship S.S. Constitution which departed at 4pm on Saturday January 31st 1852 from Honolulu harbor and arrived in Lahaina, Maui the same day with Captain Howard at the helm. It returned on Monday February 2nd 1852 to Honolulu and then on to San Francisco, California. Apparently there were insufficient passengers to warrant a regular service. Critics of the time said that the steamship was too large for the service and was introduced at the wrong time - when Hawai'i was in a recession. Other, smaller steamships later followed on the same route.
The paddle steamship S.S. Constitution was built at New York in 1850 and funded by Sam Ward (the famous lobbyist) and Rodman Price (later Governor of New Jersey). It started carrying passengers in the San Francisco area before sailing to Hawai'i. After the Hawai'i run, it returned to the West Coast, became part of the "Empire City Line" and regularly sailed between San Francisco and the Puget Sound area. Also, from Panama via Acapulco, Mexico and San Diego to San Francisco. Like many steamships of the era, it was also built with masts for sails as the steam boilers of the time were notoriously unreliable. Many Captains pushed the boilers to the limit in order to make speed records or beat other ships to port, only to have the boiler break down or even blow up. In this event, the ship then relied on sails. In 1860, the S.S. Constitution was rebuilt as a barque.
This S.S. Constitution should not be confused with the S.S. Constitution launched in 1861 for the "Pacific Mail Steamship Line", nor the U.S.S. Constitution, a large sailing warship of the U.S. Navy launched in Boston, Massachusetts in 1797. (The U.S.S. Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat in the world).
The First Day Covers were postmarked in Honolulu (black ink) and Lahaina (blue ink).
Note: The staff of Hawai'i Post were unable to locate any drawing of this S.S. Constitution despite contacting several libraries and archives both in Hawai'i and the West Coast. The silhouette on the stamps is based on other similar paddle steamships of the era and the outline may not prove to be 100% accurate - if eventually a drawing is found.
WE ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS ON ALL ORDERS
Technical details of the stamps and mini-sheet:
Colors: $3 and $5 stamps - Multicolored
Size: 32mm x 48mm (stamps).
Stamps sheet size: 30 (6 across, 5 down)
Perforation: 12.
Stamps 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), © 2001 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.
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For details on upcoming stamp issues click here