FIRST BOOK IN HAWAIIAN - A TEXT BOOK IN THE HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE. By M.H. Atcherly [Mary H. Atcherly].

HONOLULU: Published for the Territory of Hawaii by the Hawaiian Board of Missions; printed by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 1930. First edition, as indicated by the date 1930 on the title page and at the end of the preface.

Hardcovers, 5.5x8 inches, 94 pages.

Though there were many dictionaries of and scholarly books on the Hawaiian language published prior to this work, this was the first book published in Hawaii exclusively as a school textbook for the teaching of the Hawaiian language to Hawaiian high school students.

GOOD condition, professionally rebacked making this a solid, well bound copy; the covers have some rubs, soiling, and light wear; internally, there are tiny holes to the gutter edge of the pages from an old sewn binding of the signatures (threads long gone, perfect binding holding well), the blank endpapers are toned and the text pages lightly so; overall, this is a complete, tight, bright, clean and unmarked copy.

From the Preface:

******The Legislature of the Territory of Hawaii in the session of 1923 passed Act 243, entitled "an act to provide for the preparation and publication of a school text book in the Hawaiian language." In pursuance of this act, Governor Lawrence M. Judd arranged with the Hawaiian Board of Missions for the publication of the manuscript which had been prepared by Mrs. Mary H. Atcherley. Other documents had been submitted, but it was felt that Mrs. Atcherley's contribution was better fitted for the purpose than similar studies.

It is intended that this First Book in Hawaiian shall be used in the junior high schools and high schools throughout the Territory, but it is hoped that other schools will make use of this material in acquiring a knowledge of the Hawaiian language.

Grateful acknowledgement is hereby made not only of the material submitted by Mrs. Atcherley but also suggestions from a similar work by Messrs. John Wise and F. E. Midkiff, of the Kamehameha Schools, and the work of the late Professor W. D. Alexander entitled, "A Short Synopsis of the Most Essential Points in Hawaiian Grammar." - HENRY P. JUDD, Editor, Hawaiian Board of Missions, Honolulu, February 1930.******

From the March 10, 1930 Honolulu Star-Bulletin, page 18:

******HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE BOOK IS PUBLISHED BY THE TERRITORY

Increased interest in the Hawaiian language is evident in the publication of a "First Book in Hawaiian" by authority of the legislature. The manuscript was prepared by Mrs. Mary H. Atcherley, and Governor Judd arranged for its publication with the Hawaiian board of missions.

The volume has just come off The Star-Bulletin press...The new volume is a textbook containing the elements of Hawaiian grammar and a limited vocabulary.*****

About MARY H. ATCHERLY (from Wikipedia):

******Mary Ha?aheo Atcherley (born Mary Ha'aheo Kinimaka, April 24, 1874 - March 8, 1933) was a Hawaiian activist. She was one of the first native Hawaiian women to run for public office in the Territory of Hawaii.****** You can read much more about her on her Wikipedia page.