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. 38 journeys so far, 1950 to 1960, 7,236 specimens between them.

22 collectors and expeditions737 days in the field134,410 km between stops5,291 photographed specimens

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

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

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

Benjamin C. Stone

20 islands · Sep 1957 – Feb 1958

Benjamin C. Stone across 20 islands, September 1957 – February 1958

507 specimens · 64 stops · 154 days · 21,480 km

Otto Degener

6 islands · Jun 1950 – Jan 1951

Otto Degener across 6 islands, June 1950 – January 1951

256 specimens · 41 stops · 236 days · 2,367 km

Pele Expedition 1959

3 islands · Aug – Sep 1959

Pele Expedition 1959, August – September 1959

572 specimens · 6 stops · 30 days · 770 km

Harold St.John

4 islands of the United States · Sep 1952 – Feb 1953

Harold St.John across 4 islands of the United States, September 1952 – February 1953

271 specimens · 28 stops · 151 days · 1,245 km

Benjamin C. Stone

13 islands · Nov 1955 – Feb 1956

Benjamin C. Stone across 13 islands, November 1955 – February 1956

233 specimens · 36 stops · 93 days · 11,844 km

Harold St.John

7 islands · Nov – Dec 1953

Harold St.John across 7 islands, November – December 1953

254 specimens · 14 stops · 33 days · 9,010 km

Harold St.John

4 islands of the United States · Nov 1954 – Feb 1955

Harold St.John across 4 islands of the United States, November 1954 – February 1955

193 specimens · 22 stops · 97 days · 1,375 km

Benjamin C. Stone

3 islands of the United States · Jun – Aug 1955

Benjamin C. Stone in Kauaʻi, Lānaʻi and Oʻahu, June – August 1955

209 specimens · 13 stops · 62 days · 841 km

Alvin K. Chock

3 islands of the United States · Dec 1951 – Mar 1952

Alvin K. Chock in Maui, Kauaʻi and Oʻahu, December 1951 – March 1952

166 specimens · 19 stops · 99 days · 1,160 km

W.J. Gilbert

5 islands of the United States · Feb – Jun 1959

W.J. Gilbert across 5 islands of the United States, February – June 1959

116 specimens · 37 stops · 105 days · 3,345 km

T. Matsui

5 islands of the United States · Feb – Sep 1959

T. Matsui across 5 islands of the United States, February – September 1959

149 specimens · 23 stops · 206 days · 3,203 km

Alvin K. Chock

Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island · Jul – Sep 1953

Alvin K. Chock in Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi Island, July – September 1953

163 specimens · 14 stops · 46 days

Harold St.John

16 islands · Jun – Aug 1956

Harold St.John across 16 islands, June – August 1956

140 specimens · 31 stops · 69 days · 26,065 km

Benjamin C. Stone

Kauaʻi and Oʻahu · Dec 1956 – Jan 1957

Benjamin C. Stone in Kauaʻi and Oʻahu, December 1956 – January 1957

156 specimens · 7 stops · 12 days

H.A. Woolford

4 islands of the United States · 1–31 Dec 1954

H.A. Woolford across 4 islands of the United States, 1–31 December 1954

116 specimens · 10 stops · 31 days

Harold St.John

4 islands of the United States · Jun – Jul 1955

Harold St.John across 4 islands of the United States, June – July 1955

96 specimens · 11 stops · 34 days · 411 km

John W. Beardsley

Kauaʻi · Jul – Aug 1959

John W. Beardsley in Kauaʻi, July – August 1959

172 specimens · 9 stops · 61 days

Mary Eleanor King

Niʻihau and Kauaʻi · 11–22 Sep 1959

Mary Eleanor King in Niʻihau and Kauaʻi, 11–22 September 1959

237 specimens · 2 stops · 12 days · 90 km

Otto Degener

Kauaʻi and Oʻahu · Aug – Oct 1955

Otto Degener in Kauaʻi and Oʻahu, August – October 1955

81 specimens · 12 stops · 49 days · 219 km

Maxwell S. Doty

5 islands · Jun – Oct 1959

Maxwell S. Doty across 5 islands, June – October 1959

110 specimens · 16 stops · 108 days · 14,276 km

Arthur Greenwell

Kauaʻi · 4–19 Jan 1952

Arthur Greenwell in Kauaʻi, 4–19 January 1952

81 specimens · 11 stops · 16 days

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.