Honolulu: Alfred Richard Gurrey, Jr., Ltd,, 1910-14. An almost ethereal sense of splendour First and only edition of this important handmade booklet, a noted rarity with fewer than ten copies known, self-published by the father of surf photography, A. R. Gurrey. This is the first known book dedicated entirely to surfing, which inspired the genre of surf photography. "This photo compilation doesn't just document wave riding, it endows the sport with an almost ethereal sense of splendour" (Smith & Hall). The photos evince Gurrey's passion for surfing and include two of the most famous images of his close friend and favourite subject, Duke Kahanamoku. The first, showing Duke surfing with his arms outstretched and facing directly towards the viewer, is arguably the best-known image of the renowned surfer. The second, showing Diamond Head in the background, was used in several early promotional brochures for the islands, including the first issue of The Mid-Pacific Magazine in January 1911, and has been credited as key to the boom in Hawaiian tourism in the early 20th century. Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (1890-1968) popularized the sport of surfing and was a founding member of the Hui Nalu surf club, of which Gurrey was an avid active member. Gurrey's photographs are the earliest known photos of Duke surfing, taken before Duke's first Olympics in 1912. Gurrey was also a member of the Kilohana Art League, Honolulu's first art association, and became vice-president in 1901. In 1902, he established his photography gallery, A. R. Gurrey, Jr., and in the following year married Caroline Gurrey, a talented photographer specializing in studio photography. Although never formally trained in photography, Alfred quickly became noted for his skill, especially in outdoor and action shots such as those depicted in this booklet. In 1908, the Gurreys bought out the Hawaiian Photo Supply Co. and a year later Gurrey Ltd opened as the Hawaiian agent for Ansco films and cameras and Cyco printing paper. Soon after, Gurrey won the contract to handle all the photographing, developing, and printing for the US Naval Yard at Pearl Harbor. The gallery closed in 1923, having been hit by both a fire and a flood in which it is believed that all the original negatives for both Alfred and Caroline's photographs were lost, making examples of their photography uncommon. Gurrey was an adherent of the Roycrofters arts-and-crafts movement (his gallery being described as "the home of the Hawaiian Roycrofts" in The Mid-Pacific Magazine in 1912), and his artisan aesthetic can be clearly seen in the production of this elegant brochure, both in its design and handmade nature. Tim DeLaVega, in his 200 Years of Surfing Literature, notes two bindings variants: the present grey card and a "taupe" card. Two other copies in the grey binding are recorded: that listed by George R. Carter in his Catalogue of Hawaiiana (now held in the Mission House Museum in Honolulu), and that purchased by the Spanish Counsel Ignacio de Arana, who arrived in Honolulu in September 1911 and left in 1912, now held at the Maritime Museum of Bilbao. A copy in the taupe binding at the Bishop Museum completes the three copies held institutionally worldwide. Besides the present copy, we know of five other privately owned copies (four complete), all in the taupe binding, bringing the total of extant copies to nine. Provenance: from the estate of Carol Illner of Ohio, who acquired it in a collection of books from a direct descendant of Arthur Douglas Baldwin, son of Maui entrepreneur Henry Perrine Baldwin. Square octavo. Original grey patterned paper wrappers, title in black within decorative frame on front cover, stab-stitched with light brown ribbon, 6 leaves of grey and light brown paper with 8 mounted gelatin-silver photographs. Housed in a dark blue quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. Minor toning and rubbing to edges, nicks to spine ends, pages and photographs with light toning, light ripple to paper, a very good copy, notably well-preserved. George R. Carter, The Preliminary Catalogue of Hawaiiana, 1915; Tim DeLaVega, 200 Years of Surfing Literature, 2004; Joel T. Smith & Sandra Kimberly Hall, "A.R. Gurrey, Jr: The Genesis of Surf Photography", 2005, on The Surf Riders of Hawaii Blog, accessible online.
