LIHU‘E — Following a successful Kaua‘i Historical Society (KHS) book launch, the latest book, “100 Entertainments of Kaua‘i” by Tambi Larsen, is available “at local retailers on the island from Koke‘e to Hanalei,” said Pam Chock of the Kaua‘i Historical Society.
“We had a fun book launch, and have gotten several calls since asking where they can purchase the book for the holidays,” she added.
Former Midweek writer and volunteer with the Kaua‘i Historical Society and Kaua‘i Museum, Melisa Paterson said the book is available in library format, or special edition copy with a slipcase. It can be purchased directly through the historical society through the KHS website at www.kauaihistoricalsociety.org.
People can also email info@kauaihistoricalsociety.org, or call 808-245-3373.
“The limited number of copies are now available at the Kaua‘i Museum in Lihu‘e, the Kong Lung store in Kilauea, Havaike in Hanalei, and Far Fetched in Hanapepe,” Paterson said.
The book was a long term project of the historical society, and received help from people like Pat Griffin, Linda Moriarity and KHS Board Chairperson Franz Schumuster and his “let’s get it done” attitude.
Spanning 20 years in its development, the historical society “previewed” some of the book’s content through posters at other events the society participated in, including the Koloa Plantation Days where plates from the book punctuated the historical artifacts and book sales.
Larsen, an Academy Award winning set designer and art director, and his wife Barbara Dole Larsen purchased a home on Kaua‘i in 1961, Paterson said.
“Thoughout the ensuing decades, Larsen and his wife would spend part of the year at their Kaua‘i home,” Paterson said. “During that time, Larsen routinely traversed the island, bearing witness to the island’s unique culture and evolving landscapes by taking many snapshots of the places he visited.”
When returning to their California home, he transformed the snapshots into large, hand-drawn colored pencil drawings that he eventually labeled his “100 entertainments” because he was too modest to actually decree these pieces of art, or himself, an artist, Paterson said.
“As the number of drawings grew, and once his work was seen on Kaua‘i, his ‘art’ was aptly put on display at the Kaua‘i Museum, and the former Stones Gallery in a series of exhibitions between 1982 and 1991,” Paterson said.
Following Tambi’s passing in 2001, his wife Barbara donated the publishing rights for the “100 entertainments” to the historical society to start the long 20-year journey of getting the book to print.
“Moriarty explains that the book starts at Ke‘e and takes readers on a journey from one end of the island to the other by moku,” Paterson said.
“Each member of the committee took one moku and they all wrote, as Moriarty describes ‘not only describing the images, but also trysing to bring forth a localized history. A lot of the smaller towns, a lot of stores, businesses, and even lifestyle images are no longer there.’”
Griffin said, “the image in this book capture a really interesting time in Kaua‘i’s history because after decades of decreasing population from 1938, then came statehood in 1959 and jets started arriving, and by the mid-1970s, the growth had become quite rapid and clearly sugar was on its way out, and tourism had become the dominant industry. There was a tug of war in that era, and Tambi speaks to that in his images — the pain and disassociation that was happening between the past and the present.”
