Three Original Promotional Photographs for Peterson and Vierra's Concert and Dramatic Company, a 'Hawaiian' Touring Band, and Another Photograph of Lei Aloha, Another Performer from the Same Era, Chicago, c. 1915

Chicago, 1915. Gelatin silver photographs, three measure 8 x 10 inches, one measures 6 x 8 inches. Two bearing stamps of the Orpheum Studio, Chicago, one with stamp from C.J. Pairing and Company. All with editorial marks to verso. Some marks, pin holes and wear, about very good condition overall, with sepia toned photographs attractively preserved. Very Good. A scarce survival of the early days of Hawaiian music in the United states, these four studio photographs were produced in Chicago for the Peterson and Vierra Dramatic Concert Company, who toured the United States briefly in 1914-1915 at the advent of the Hawaiian music craze. Scant information on the group is available save for early newspaper accounts. The group was led by a J. Kilali Peterson, who according to contemporary accounts was originally with the Bird of Paradise production, which was highly influential in bringing Hawaiian music to America in 1912. According to a contemporary account of the show, Peterson was billed as "The premier guitarist in the world" on the Keith Vaudeville Circuit. The group also included Evelyn De Foliart, according to the account. Another photograph, included here and possibly related, shows "Lei Aloha, in Hawaiian Playlet." The photographs here are quite attractively produced at Chicago studios, though the Hawaiian origins of the performers are suspect.