Lot 186
  • 186

Na‘ea, Emma Kalanikaumakaamano, wife of King Kamehameha IV

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Description

Autograph note signed ("Emma"), one page on black ruled stationery bearing Emma's queenly monogram (6 x 3 3/4 in.; 153 x 95 mm), Kalanao, 1 November 1869, directing a Mr. Gulick to pay Hiram Kahanawai the sum of $300; light browning, closed tear in upper left corner.  

Catalogue Note

The unexpected deaths of her four-year-old son Prince Albert Edward 1862 and the king the following year left Queen Emma and entire kingdom in deep mourning. Even six years after the death of her husband, Queen Emma continues to employ mourning stationery, perhaps in emulation of Queen Victoria who was conspicuous in mourning for her husband for the rest of her reign. (In 1865, Emma sailed to England to solicit funds for an Anglican cathedral and a school for girls in Hawaii. During her trip, she met and became friends with Queen Victoria, who remarked of Emma, "Nothing could be nicer or more dignified than her manner.")

After King Lunalilo died in 1874 without naming a successor, Queen Emma campaigned for election to the throne in 1874 but lost to Kalakaua in a heated contest. She continued to serve her people by devoting her life to charitable works, such as the Queen's Hospital, Saint Andrew's Priory and Iolani School, now beneficiaries of the Queen's estate.