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. 2,592 journeys so far, 1874 to 2026, 493,508 specimens between them.

1,114 collectors and expeditions42,779 days in the field8,765,933 km between stops330,332 photographed specimens

R.S. Cowan

3 islands · Dec 1946 – Jan 1947

R.S. Cowan in Hawaiʻi Island, Ebon Atoll and Kauaʻi, December 1946 – January 1947

243 specimens · 15 stops · 44 days · 4,673 km

Derral R. Herbst

5 islands · Aug – Dec 1974

Derral R. Herbst across 5 islands, August – December 1974

178 specimens · 27 stops · 126 days · 1,297 km

Ted E. should Be D. Dranga

3 islands · May – Jul 1925

Ted E. should Be D. Dranga in Maui, Kahoʻolawe and Pearl and Hermes Atoll, May – July 1925

281 specimens · 9 stops · 53 days · 270 km

Hans George Hornbostel

Guam · Jun – Jul 1923

Hans George Hornbostel in Guam, June – July 1923

296 specimens · 14 stops · 60 days · 221,255 km

J. Polloi

8 islands of the United States · Sep – Oct 2002

J. Polloi across 8 islands of the United States, September – October 2002

301 specimens · 13 stops · 32 days · 5,304 km

William J. Hoe

Maui · May – Jun 1976

William J. Hoe in Maui, May – June 1976

257 specimens · 13 stops · 38 days · 162 km

Charles N. Forbes

4 islands of the United States · Jan – Jun 1916

Charles N. Forbes across 4 islands of the United States, January – June 1916

175 specimens · 26 stops · 156 days · 2,894 km

M. Jacobs

Sumatra · Apr – May 1968

M. Jacobs in Sumatra, April – May 1968

255 specimens · 13 stops · 35 days · 1,817 km

Gerrit Parmele Wilder

3 islands of French Polynesia · Aug – Dec 1932

Gerrit Parmele Wilder in Makatea, Tahiti and Moorea, August – December 1932

218 specimens · 23 stops · 120 days · 1,308 km

L.E. Hair

25 islands · Jun – Aug 1966

L.E. Hair across 25 islands, June – August 1966

263 specimens · 10 stops · 73 days · 5,300 km

Otto Degener

6 islands · Apr – Sep 1964

Otto Degener across 6 islands, April – September 1964

168 specimens · 57 stops · 146 days · 10,662 km

H.L. Lyon

Maui · Nov 1908 – Jan 1909

H.L. Lyon in Maui, November 1908 – January 1909

176 specimens · 31 stops · 82 days

T.G. Laman

Borneo · Oct – Nov 1996

T.G. Laman in Borneo, October – November 1996

272 specimens · 12 stops · 23 days · 4,031 km

Robert Cyril Layton Perkins

the United States · May – Oct 1893

Robert Cyril Layton Perkins in the United States, May – October 1893

344 specimens · 23 stops · 154 days

Adolph D.E. Elmer

3 islands of the Philippines · May – Jun 1909

Adolph D.E. Elmer in Mindanao, Phililppine Island and Luzon, May – June 1909

498 specimens · 3 stops · 32 days

Walter M. Giffard

Hawaiʻi Island · Feb – Aug 1911

Walter M. Giffard in Hawaiʻi Island, February – August 1911

344 specimens · 19 stops · 170 days

P.A. Schafer

4 islands of French Polynesia · Jan – Apr 1975

P.A. Schafer across 4 islands of French Polynesia, January – April 1975

231 specimens · 36 stops · 89 days · 329 km

R.J. Baker

3 islands of the United States · Sep 1932 – Jan 1933

R.J. Baker in Molokaʻi, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, September 1932 – January 1933

204 specimens · 16 stops · 115 days · 120 km

Jan Newhouse

5 islands · May – Sep 1954

Jan Newhouse across 5 islands, May – September 1954

224 specimens · 51 stops · 114 days · 18,081 km

William J. Hoe

Maui and Hawaiʻi Island · Aug – Sep 1967

William J. Hoe in Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, August – September 1967

295 specimens · 9 stops · 32 days · 151 km

Afrastini Ismail

3 islands · Jun – Aug 1994

Afrastini Ismail in Bali Timur, Bali and Oʻahu, June – August 1994

196 specimens · 18 stops · 86 days · 105 km

Reid Moran

Okinawa · Feb – Apr 1955

Reid Moran in Okinawa, February – April 1955

167 specimens · 32 stops · 75 days · 6,395 km

Derral R. Herbst

4 islands of the United States · Feb – May 1973

Derral R. Herbst across 4 islands of the United States, February – May 1973

186 specimens · 22 stops · 93 days · 1,628 km

Clarence H. Cooke Jr.

Kauaʻi and Molokaʻi · Jun – Jul 1914

Clarence H. Cooke Jr. in Kauaʻi and Molokaʻi, June – July 1914

303 specimens · 7 stops · 37 days · 413 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.