Dream islands and island dreams: Hawaiʻi and Berlin
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Island paradise Peacock Island (3)
Figure 1: Johann Gottfried Schadow (1764–1850): “Harry of the Sandwich Islands, en face and in profile to the left”
On October 18, 1824, the “Royal Privileged Berlin Newspaper of State and Scholarly Matters” reported on the voyage of the Prussian merchant ship “Mentor” under the heading “Science and art news”:
For an ethnographic museum, the construction of which we are still awaiting, many a curious thing has also come along; we only noticed light dance dress of the Chileans made of bear guts, stuff made of tree bark from the Sandwich Islands, drinking vessels made of gourds, fans made of peacock feathers, helmets made of rushes, weapons, fishing rods and household utensils of various kinds.
However, the “volunteer from the Sandwich Islands” that the mentor had also brought from Hawaiʻi aroused particular interest:
Henry, as he is called, or rather that is what he calls himself, came on board when the mentor docked there and begged to be taken along. They inquired about his family circumstances, he had neither father nor mother, nor anyone else who made claims on him; so he went with them to China, and has now become completely accustomed to the European way of life. Henry may be about 15 to 18 years old, […] he has tattoos on his arm and face. He is very eager to learn, friendly, lively and hard-working. He speaks German words fluently, if they do not have too many consonants, especially the r seems to be missing completely.
Just eight days later, “Harry of the Sandwich Islands” sat for the Berlin sculptor and draughtsman Johann Gottfried Schadow for a drawing “enface and in profile to the left”. The artist later described how he saw the
portrayed person in his “Polyclet”:
To the north of this island, in the line between Mexico and China, lie theSandwich Islands, from which the ship Mentor brought an inhabitant named Harry, whose portrait, in profile and face, is shown on this plate.
Since he has remained among us, an inspection of his features shows that there is nothing different from ours. The broad cheekbones are also to be found among us, and although his skull is more slender, this is nevertheless concealed by the strong and thick hair; what distinguishes him to some extent is the darker color of his skin. He was not suited to a more refined intellectual education. This shows how great the difference is between the appearance of the islanders of this large expanse of water.
Anyone comparing the two contemporary quotes and the drawing will notice an interesting detail: According to the report in the “Voss’s Newspaper”, Harry Maitey’s face was tattooed – but neither the drawing shows the facial adornment nor does the description mention it. Rather, Schadow seems to have been particularly focused on making sure the “facial features do not differ from ours”.
Figure 2:Wilhelm von Humboldt’s message to Christian Rother on April 15, 1827
The documents about the “Sandwich Islander” are also characterized by sobriety and describe a not very exotic way of life. Initially, Harry lived in the office building of the Prussian Shipping Trade Society with the family
of Christian Rother, the president of the Shipping Trade Society, in the Jägerstraße on the corner of the Gendarmenmarkt.
In 1825, he began his schooling at the “Boarding school in front of the Halle Gate”, to which he moved two years later. As he was not satisfied with his progress in German, Rother asked the linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt to give Harry extra tuition. The message with which Humboldt agreed on April 15, 1827 has been preserved:
If Your Excellency would send me your Harry this afternoon at 6 o’clock, I would like to try working with him. If it is not possible today, I will ask for him at the same time next Tuesday. With my best wishes for your journey
and your warmest and most respectful friendship, Humboldt
However, Maitey was not tutored in German, but was asked for wordsfrom the Hawaiian language. This resulted in the “Sandwich Glossary”, which Humboldt presented at the Berlin Academy of Sciences in 1828.
Later, in his studies on the Malayo-Polynesian languages, he cited “Harres Maitai” as his most important source for the Hawaiian language.
Figure 3: New Church and Royal Theater 1833
The year 1830 marked two important events for the young Harry. On April 30, he was baptized and confirmed in the New Church on Gendarmenmarkt. Although King Friedrich Wilhelm III had spoken out against it, he was given the German first names Heinrich and Wilhelm at his baptism. At the same time, April 30, 1807 was set as the date of his birth on the baptismal certificate. In August, Maitey was taken into the royal household and at the same time assigned as an assistant to the machinery master on Peacock Island.
Associated with this island are imageries such as “Prussian paradise” or “Prussian Arcadia”, as Frederick William III had it equipped with various gardens and had exotic animals gathered there. It is therefore sometimes assumed that the “Sandwich Islander” was also intended to enrich the island paradise as an “exotic”. This overlooks the fact that Maitey only failed to enter court service because of a failed examination. So now quite unlike paradise – he was trained by machinery master Friedrich as a turner, locksmith and carpenter.
After marrying Dorothea Charlotte Becker, the animal keeper’s daughter, in 1833, the Peacock Island changed from a residential to a working location, as the young couple moved to Klein-Glienicke. It is not known whether it was only due to the longer commute that Maitey was increasingly absent from the island. In any case, it led to tensions with Friedrich, who eventually made an official complaint. Maitey was then assigned to the royal court gardener Fintelmann.
Illustration credits
Johann Gottfried Schadow, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons,
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/KS-
Schadow_0974_Re_AF-KS-671_%28cropped%29.tif
„Acta betreffend den durch das Seehandlungsschiff Mentor
mitgebrachten Sandwich-Insulaner Harry Maitey“
. Geheimes
Staatsarchiv PK, I. HA Rep. 109 B, Tit. 4, Nr. 11, S. 12, Public Domain
Mark 1.0
Königliches Schauspielhaus und Neue Kirche in Berlin (1833)
, drawing by
H.Hintze, (1800-1862), engraving by J.Vincent Barber (1787-1838), Public
domain, via Wikimedia Commons,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:K
%C3%B6nigliches_Schauspielhaus_und_neue_Kirche_Berlin_1833.jpg
Heinrich Wilhelm Maitey
, Brandenburg-Preußisches Hausarchiv, Public
Domain Mark 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
