Martin & MacArthur is known for its locally made koa furniture. But the nearly 50-year-old company plans to showcase — and in some instances sell — items from a private collection of Hawai'i artifacts as it pushes to double the number of stores it operates.

The collection of roughly 3,000 items includes photographs, letters, maps and more, largely dating from Captain Cook's arrival in 1778 to 1900.

More contemporary items, including Matson ocean liner menus, hula dancer figurines, sheet music and postcards from the 20th century, are also part of the collection.

Many items, such as copperplate engravings based on drawings by artist John Webber, who accompanied Cook, are directly connected with Hawai'i. Other items from the same era, such as English silver and Japanese woodblock prints, are indirectly connected through Hawai'i's trading partners.

All the items were acquired jointly by Michael Tam, who bought a majority ownership share of Martin & MacArthur last year, and Simon McKenzie, a biotechnology company entrepreneur and artifact collector Tam recruited to be Martin & MacArthur's chief financial officer.

Tam said he recognized that Martin & MacArthur, which is the largest handcrafter of koa furnishings in the state, with four retail outlets and a history of making classical Hawaiian furniture, would be a perfect setting to sell pieces and copies from the collection.

Tam, who is part Hawaiian, was born in Hawai'i but moved to the Mainland after graduating from Saint Louis School in the late 1970s. The 52-year-old returned home last year, after arranging to buy the furniture manufacturer.

Prior to that, Tam was chief marketing officer of book retailer Borders Group Inc., and also held executive positions with national retailers Starbucks, Nordstrom, General Nutrition Cos. and McDonald's.

'FUN' COLLECTION

McKenzie, a native of Australia, met Tam about 15 years ago and said his friend led him to begin collecting Hawai'i artifacts in a departure from his primary passion, collecting European antiquities.

"It's a fun and important collection," McKenzie said. "Our objective is to share it with people. We can give people a sort of glimpse of what Hawai'i was like at certain times."

In conjunction with the collection's rollout, Martin & MacArthur plans to double the number of stores from four to eight, and has come out with some replicas of furniture tied to the Hawaiian monarchy, such as a display cabinet owned by King Lunalilo, circa 1870.

Tam said each Martin & MacArthur store will feature a dozen or so pieces of the collection, which will be rotated every month or two.

"It's like a continuing exhibit that actually is for sale," he said.

Most of the collection's Hawai'i artifacts were bought at big New York and London auction houses, as pieces once held by foreign dignitaries, missionary families and others were put up for sale.

As the trove of items grew, Tam and McKenzie dubbed it The Konia Collection after one of their first purchases — a photo of the high chiefess Laura Konia, granddaughter of King Kamehameha I and biological mother of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

"That, in many ways, became the linchpin of the collection," McKenzie said of the photo dated to 1858 or 1859 and bought for $12,000 about 14 years ago. "We built stuff up around that."

The collection features numerous 19th century photos. It also includes rare books, such as a four-volume set about Cook's Pacific Ocean voyage from 1785, and unique documents, among them an order appointing Prince Lot as the representative of Kamehameha IV.

Leah Caldeira, assistant collections manager for Bishop Museum, said the Konia Collection has original documents not found elsewhere, such as letters signed by Queen Emma and Queen Lili'uokalani.

Other pieces are more common published items, such as the Webber engravings, lithographs by Isabella Sinclair and other prints and publications that can be found at Bishop Museum and other institutions.

McKenzie said the collection represents the single largest group of Webber engravings — about 500, including multiple originals made from the same copperplate.

WIDE PRICE RANGE

Framed originals of such engravings range from $1,500 to $75,000 at Martin & MacArthur, though Tam and McKenzie make and sell reproductions priced at a few hundred dollars.

More affordable items in the collection include a 1959 passenger list from the SS Matsonia for $50 and sheet music from around the 1940s for $75.

The previous owners of Martin & MacArthur, 50-50 partners Jon Martin and Lloyd Jones, sought to sell the business several years ago when they entered their 60s. Tam bought out Jones, who was CEO, and some of Martin's shares to become majority owner.

Martin, who founded the company in 1961, still designs and builds furniture at 71.

"It was obvious to us when we first sat down with (Martin and Jones)," McKenzie said of the opportunity to display and market the collection. "What use is a collection when you have 3,000 things sitting in drawers?"

The artifacts are expected to be a significant source of new revenue for Martin & MacArthur, and also will help boost the company's picture frame sales. Pictures of 19th century Hawaiians wearing lei or holding weapons also tie in with some items made by a group of 400 local craftsman for Martin & MacArthur stores.

Martin & MacArthur's four stores are at Ala Moana Center, the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, Shops at Wailea on Maui and the factory showroom in Kalihi Kai. Four more are slated to open at Ward Centre, Princeville Resort on Kaua'i, Whalers Village on Maui and Kings Shops at Waikoloa Resort on the Big Island by early next year.

The first new store, scheduled to open Aug. 8 at Ward Centre, will be the company's most elaborate. Its opening will mark the official debut of the Konia Collection.

However, the collection has been posted online at www.koniacollection.com, and some items have been installed and sold at Martin & MacArthur's Ala Moana store, including a photo of Princess Ka'iulani and a photo of a hula girl from 1880 that recently sold for a combined $5,000, framed.