The SCRAPBOOKS series includes 13 record center cartons, 3 document cases, 30 flat boxes, and 1 card file of scrapbooks and accompanying materials related to life in Hawaii during the Second World War, and the war in general as reported by publications in Hawaii. The series covers primarily the years 1940 to 1947, with some information dating as far back as 1929 and continuing as late as 1956. This series is one of nine series within the Hawaii War Records Depository. Future descriptions for additional series within the collection will be posted as processing is completed. Researchers interested in other series within the collection should contact archives@hawaii.edu for more information.

The papers within this series have been organized into three subseries based on their contents: Clippings, Photographs, and Sketchbooks. There is not always a concrete division between these categories (i.e. scrapbooks occasionally contain both clippings and photographs). When both clippings and photographs are present in a scrapbook, the subseries has been assigned according to the majority of the material in the book. The subseries Clippings is by far the largest of the series and has been further subdivided into nineteen sub-subseries based on the individuals or organizations that created the scrapbooks. (For a more detailed explanation of the content of individual subseries and sub-subseries, see the descriptions later in this document and the series’ folder list).

The scrapbooks in this series were found in both the portion of the collection that was originally cataloged in the 1940s and the unprocessed portion of the HWRD. The scrapbooks from the cataloged portion were present in the original card catalog compiled for the HWRD. The majority of these has been included in this series and will no longer be considered a part of the ORIGINAL SUBJECT FILES series. Cards will remain in the card catalog, with location information updated to reflect new box numbers. In some instances, scrapbooks noted in the card catalog could not be found in the collection. It is possible that these materials were returned to their creators and changes in custodianship were not reflected in the catalog. It is also possible that these materials were lost when the contents of the HWRD moved to Hamilton Library. For example, locations given in the card catalog as “Bookcase A” or “Stack” lost their meanings when the collection moved, heightening the possibility that material would be misplaced. Should these materials be found in the future, they will be added to this series.

This series had no discernable arrangement prior to processing. The most likely reason for this was, again, the movements of the collection over time. As the books were moved from bookshelves to stacks to boxes, any original order was abandoned. For the most part, attempts have been made to keep scrapbooks with the same creator together and scrapbooks from the different subseries separate.

The bulk of this series is composed of scrapbooks of newspaper clippings, and these scrapbooks were generally in poor condition. While preservation photocopying of all newsprint was not undertaken, when the paste used to glue clippings to scrapbook pages had failed or articles were significantly torn or otherwise unreadable, articles were photocopied and either clipped to the pages in their original position or separated to acid free folders. In both the Clippings and Photographs sub-subseries, when scrapbook covers were moldy, badly damaged by insects, or otherwise spoiled, covers were removed, and when turning pages caused significant tearing, strings binding scrapbooks were removed and the pages foldered. Scrapbook pages are, for the most part, extremely brittle and should be handled with care. Newspaper clippings within scrapbooks are also yellowed and fragile and should be manipulated with caution. When the paste used to secure photographs had failed, photographs were separated and placed in acid free folders. In cases where the glue used throughout the entire scrapbook had failed, the original pages were discarded and the photographs foldered in the order in which they appeared in the scrapbook. In most cases, when clippings and photographs appeared on the same page in a scrapbook and the paste used to secure them was sound, they were not moved.

Since the clippings scrapbooks were compiled from the same newspapers (primarily the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser) and they cover largely the same time period, it is likely that there are duplicates within the series. No effort has been made to correct this since the scrapbooks were compiled by different individuals and reflect that person or organization’s sense of what was important to document about the war.

The materials in this series were collected as part of a large-scale collecting effort, and no formal deeds of gift were signed or individual donors singled out. Where administrative files within the collection (which can be further explored in the ADMINISTRATIVE FILES series) document contact with a scrapbook’s creator, that information is reflected in the sub-subseries description below. The series was processed in 2010.

All of the papers are open for research.

For other research related to Hawaii’s role in World War II and the war’s effect on the territory, please consult the University of Hawaii Library’s online catalog. See also the cataloged portion of the Hawaii War Records Depository, accessible via card catalog in the Moir Reading Room.