A selection of seven Hawaiian travel and tourism posters of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s will be offered for sale Wednesday. One is titled "Fly to the South Sea Isles/Via Pan American," circa 1938, designed by Paul George Lawler. It pictures a lovely wahine in a sarong lounging near the shore as a Boeing 314 Flying Clipper is about to land in a tropical lagoon. The clippers were called flying boats and took off and landed on water. Any takers? If so, to view the poster up close, you will have to jet to New York and go to Swann Auction Galleries in Manhattan where the auction will take place. Buyers do not have to attend the auction to bid. The poster is expected to go for $6,000 to $9,000. For bidding info, call Caitlin Brown, 212-871-3020.
At 80, I’m old enough remember the clippers. The Flying Clipper poster is similar to the design on the back of a Tori Richard shirt. I liked the design so much I bought two of the shirts. I also made a Flying Clipper in the woodshop class at Lincoln Elementary in the sixth grade. Only one of each of the seven posters will be offered for sale, with the exception of two of a poster titled "Matson Lines/ Hawaii," by Frank McIntosh, with an estimate of $1,000 to $1,500 each. Titles among other posters include "Matson to Hawaii," designer unknown, $400 to $600, and "Dole Map of the Hawaii Islands, 1950," by Joseph Feher, $700 to $1,000. …
ONWARD: Courtney Mathewson, 25, is an attacker on the U.S. women’s water polo Olympic team. She was born and lives in Anaheim, Calif., and graduated from UCLA in 2009. Her mom, Sharon Wong Mathewson, was born here and is a member of Roosevelt’s Class of 1967. Her mom and dad, Roger Mathewson, are at the Olympics. Courtney has many relatives in Hawaii, including much-respected waterman George Downing and his son Kainoa Downing, the Kamehameha boys volleyball coach. Other relatives include Curt Ai, Kamehameha girls water polo coach, and Hokule‘a sailor Buddy McGuire. Thanks to another of their relatives, Betty Shodahl, for the info. … Maika Symmonds of Kaneohe and Simon Lee of Pearl City departed for London on Monday to take part in managing the U.S. Olympic Committee’s High Performance Training Center. They were among 27 employees of 24 Hour Fitness chosen out of 21,000 for the honor. …
FORMER HAWAII Junior Miss Seema Sueko, co-founder and executive artistic director of the Mo‘olelo Performing Arts Company in San Diego, has received the Theatre Communications Group’s $75,000 inaugural "Leadership University one-on-one grant." Seema, a playwright, director and actress, was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and raised in Honolulu. She is a graduate of the University Lab School and won Hawaii’s Junior Miss title in 1990. The grant will provide Seema with a 16-month mentorship with Molly Smith, artistic director of Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, D.C. …
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Ben Wood, who sold newspapers on Honolulu streets in World War II, writes of people, places and things. Email him at bwood@staradvertiser.com.
