Bishop MuseumExplore

Journeys

The expeditions, reassembled

Every dated label is a diary entry. Read a collector’s labels in order and the voyage comes back: the islands in sequence, the days at each, the specimens from every stop. 1,124 journeys so far, 1879 to 2026, 203,983 specimens between them.

426 collectors and expeditions18,585 days in the field3,965,525 km between stops134,517 photographed specimens

A.J. Bernatowicz

21 islands · Feb – Sep 1949

A.J. Bernatowicz across 21 islands, February – September 1949

593 specimens · 106 stops · 209 days

Seymour H. Sohmer

Sri Lanka and Oʻahu · Oct – Dec 1975

Seymour H. Sohmer in Sri Lanka and Oʻahu, October – December 1975

936 specimens · 26 stops · 44 days

Otto Degener

5 islands of the United States · Mar – Aug 1926

Otto Degener across 5 islands of the United States, March – August 1926

607 specimens · 71 stops · 177 days · 3,068 km

A.A. Heller

3 islands of the United States · Mar – Nov 1895

A.A. Heller in Kauaʻi, Oʻahu and Maui, March – November 1895

602 specimens · 77 stops · 257 days · 2,287 km

Derral R. Herbst

7 islands of the United States · Jan – Sep 1968

Derral R. Herbst across 7 islands of the United States, January – September 1968

615 specimens · 67 stops · 243 days · 5,686 km

Derral R. Herbst

12 islands · Dec 1971 – Aug 1972

Derral R. Herbst across 12 islands, December 1971 – August 1972

634 specimens · 53 stops · 263 days · 25,096 km

Ditlev Due Thaanum

10 islands of the United States · May – Aug 1923

Ditlev Due Thaanum across 10 islands of the United States, May – August 1923

918 specimens · 15 stops · 96 days · 11,766 km

Yoshio KondoKay Kondo

9 islands · May – Jul 1952

Yoshio KondoKay Kondo across 9 islands, May – July 1952

877 specimens · 23 stops · 74 days · 18,027 km

Otto Degener

5 islands of the United States · Jun – Oct 1927

Otto Degener across 5 islands of the United States, June – October 1927

581 specimens · 60 stops · 136 days · 1,266 km

Maxwell S. Doty

16 islands · Aug – Dec 1971

Maxwell S. Doty across 16 islands, August – December 1971

737 specimens · 34 stops · 101 days · 25,154 km

Otto Degener

5 islands of the United States · Dec 1951 – Apr 1952

Otto Degener across 5 islands of the United States, December 1951 – April 1952

648 specimens · 45 stops · 108 days · 1,141 km

Harold St.John

5 islands · Sep 1930 – May 1931

Harold St.John across 5 islands, September 1930 – May 1931

545 specimens · 46 stops · 258 days · 10,194 km

John Colburn Bridwell

Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island · Jan – Aug 1917

John Colburn Bridwell in Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island, January – August 1917

831 specimens · 28 stops · 193 days · 1,209 km

Harold St.John

9 islands · Jun – Nov 1938

Harold St.John across 9 islands, June – November 1938

1,315 specimens · 9 stops · 172 days · 5,917 km

Seymour H. Sohmer

Sri Lanka and Pahang · Sep – Dec 1973

Seymour H. Sohmer in Sri Lanka and Pahang, September – December 1973

672 specimens · 28 stops · 94 days

Gerrit Parmele Wilder

3 islands of the United States · Jul 1930 – Jun 1931

Gerrit Parmele Wilder in Oʻahu, Laysan and Molokaʻi, July 1930 – June 1931

435 specimens · 74 stops · 343 days · 5,041 km

F. Raymond Fosberg

21 islands · Nov 1951 – Apr 1952

F. Raymond Fosberg across 21 islands, November 1951 – April 1952

672 specimens · 57 stops · 145 days · 13,644 km

Donald Anderson

Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu · 7–31 Dec 1937

Donald Anderson in Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu, 7–31 December 1937

1,115 specimens · 8 stops · 25 days · 391 km

Otto Degener

6 islands of the United States · Apr – Sep 1949

Otto Degener across 6 islands of the United States, April – September 1949

517 specimens · 50 stops · 133 days · 1,742 km

Steven Perlman

6 islands of the United States · Jan 1987 – Jan 1988

Steven Perlman across 6 islands of the United States, January 1987 – January 1988

387 specimens · 89 stops · 373 days · 2,461 km

Martin L. Grant

3 islands · Jul – Oct 1934

Martin L. Grant in Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Moorea, July – October 1934

572 specimens · 31 stops · 121 days · 9,586 km

K. Shultz

9 islands · Sep – Oct 2002

K. Shultz across 9 islands, September – October 2002

1,025 specimens · 13 stops · 25 days · 2,876 km

K.A. Peyton

9 islands · Sep – Oct 2002

K.A. Peyton across 9 islands, September – October 2002

979 specimens · 13 stops · 25 days · 2,876 km

Ruth D. Svihla

4 islands of the United States · Dec 1955 – Mar 1956

Ruth D. Svihla across 4 islands of the United States, December 1955 – March 1956

745 specimens · 28 stops · 82 days · 1,225 km

How a journey is found

Every specimen with a full date and a known collector is a diary entry. The days are read in order; a gap of more than three weeks ends one journey and starts the next. Days spent where a collector lived most of their life are home, not travel, and are left out.

A journey needs at least five days, forty specimens and two places. Within it, a run of days spent within about ten kilometres is one stop; the stop’s point is the middle of the labels that carry coordinates, or the island’s centre when none do.

Companions are the people whose own labels put them in the same place on the same days. Staff can name a journey, write about it and feature it; everything else here is read straight off the specimens, and is rebuilt as the records improve.