Lot 199
[Kaiulani] Vintage Photo of the Heir Apparent of Hawaii (1875-1899) Princess Victoria Ka'iulani Kawekio I Lunalilo Kalaninuiahilapalapa Cleghorn was the daughter of Miriam Likelike (sister to King Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani) and Scottish merchant Archibald Scott Cleghorn. Named heir apparent by Queen Liliuokalani upon her ascension to the throne in 1891, Kaiulani was at school in England when she got the news that Queen Liliuokalani had been deposed on January 14, 1893 in a coup d'état led by a group of American businessmen (headed by Lorrin Thurston and Sanford Dole) who wanted to annex Hawaii to the United States. They were backed by U.S. military forces. Kaiulani traveled to the United States to plead with President Cleveland and the American people for their support in restoring the Hawaiian monarchy, which elicited sympathy but little action. She returned to live in Europe until 1897, then went home to Hawaii where she lived until her death in 1899 at the young age of 23.
Mounted photograph, 9¾ x 6¾ in., c. 1892, with imprint of Rumbler, Wiesbaden on the lower mount and on verso. A standing, right profile portrait of the elegant young princess who spoke Hawaiian, English, French, and German. She spent a winter in Wiesbaden with Alice Warner, daughter of Theophilus Davies, who was Kaiulani's guardian in England. Some paper remnants adhere to the lower mount, not affecting the lovely, sepia-toned photograph.
Estimated Value $1,500 - 2,000.
Descended through the Cleghorn family.
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| Realized $4,320 |
