Hawaii

The Princess of Manoa

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Cover of "The Princess of Manoa"
Cover of “The Princess of Manoa”

The Princess of Manoa (1906) was the second book of Hawaiian folklore tales collected and retold by Emily Foster Day for Paul Elder. Her first book of Hawaiiana, The Menehunes, published by Elder in 1905, must have been reasonably successful.

The Manoa Valley is in Honolulu, a bit towards Diamondhead from the old town center and then mauka (towards the mountain) along Manoa Valley Road. At the head of the valley is the lovely Lyon Arboretum, and farther up the trail is Manoa Falls.

Two different versions of the cover are known: paper on boards with a full-page decoration of an ocean sunset, and cloth on boards with a small gold-stamped border around the title. There is also a leather edition of the latter design.

Illustrator D. Howard Hitchcock (1861-1943) was an American painter who specialized in depictions of Hawaii, where he lived his entire life. In the San Francisco area, his work was exhibited both at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915 and the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939.

Alternate cover of "The Princess of Manoa"
Alternate cover of “The Princess of Manoa”, buckram
Alternate cover of "Princess of Manoa," leather
Alternate cover of “Princess of Manoa,” leather
Dust jacket of alternate cover
Dust jacket of alternate cover
Title page of "The Princess of Manoa"
Title page of “The Princess of Manoa”
Frontispiece of "The Princess of Manoa"
Frontispiece of “The Princess of Manoa”
Page 1 of "The Princess of Manoa"
Page 1 of “The Princess of Manoa”
Custom leatherbound edition of "Princess of Manoa"
Custom leatherbound edition of “Princess of Manoa”

The Menehunes

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Menehunes
Cover of “The Menehunes”

Menehunes are popular characters in Hawaiian mythology; they are said to be a race of small people that live in the deep forest, far from the prying eyes of humans. The Menehunes arrived in Hawaii before the Polynesians, and were excellent craftspeople who built heiau (temples), roads, and fishing ponds.

In fact, a famous fishing lake called the Menehune Fishpond is located just south of Lihue, Kauaʻi. Officially called the ʻAlekoko Fishpond, it is believed to have been constructed in the 15th-century. Described as “the most significant fishpond on Kauaʻi, both in Hawaiian legends and folklore and in the eyes [of] Kauaʻi’s people today,” the fishpond was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.1https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/73000677_text

The Menehunes, subtitled Their Adventures With the Fisherman and How They Built the Canoe (1905), by Emily Foster Day, was one of Paul Elder’s many charming children’s books. This small volume was bound in Hawaiian kapa fabric, with delightful illustrations by Spencer Wright.

Frontispiece and title page of "Menehunes"
Frontispiece and title page of “Menehunes”

In 1906, Emily wrote another book of Hawaiiana for Paul Elder, The Princess of Manoa.

Emily Foster was born in Onondaga, Ontario on 24 October 1860, the fourth of five children, and only daughter, of Charles Lucas Foster, a carpenter, and Elspeth Gauld. Emily’s grandparents were immigrants to Ontario from England and Aberdeenshire, Scotland, respectively. In 1885, Emily married Francis Root Day (1859-1906), a prominent doctor. In 1887, they moved from Chicago to Honolulu, where they spent the rest of their lives. Emily outlived Francis by nineteen years; they are buried at O’ahu Cemetery in Honolulu.

Updated 2026-01-25

Pages 2-3 of "Menehunes"
Pages 2-3 of “Menehunes”
The decorated endpapers of "Menehunes"
The decorated endpapers of “Menehunes”
  • 1
    https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/73000677_text