Between 1834 and 1844, a remarkable collection of copperplate engravings issued forth from the Lahainaluna Seminary, a school on the island of Maui run by the Hawaiian Mission. Collectively, these engravings—views of the Hawaiian Islands, including towns and rural settlements, portraits, objects of natural history, and original maps and charts—form one of the most important visual records of nineteenth-century Hawaii before the age of photography.

Although most of the drawings on which the engravings are based were done by members of the Hawaiian Mission, the actual engravings are all the work of young Hawaiians, many of them students at the Lahainaluna Seminary. This is the first study of the entire body of engraved work produced by Hawaiians at Lahainaluna Seminary and includes biographical information on the young engravers.