Kelly Menus
Without a doubt, menus with designs by John Kelly are the most collectable of all covers, due to their ravishing depiction's of Polynesians. These menu covers were produced in the most part for the Royal Hawaiian Hotel and in limited numbers for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin as Christmas presents in the early 1950's. John Melville Kelly (1878 - 1962) born in Phoenix, Arizona, came to Hawai'i in 1923 with his wife, Katherine, a sculptor, for what they thought would be a year. John began working with an advertising company producing promotional materials. Prior to this, he had spent fourteen years as a staff artist for the San Francisco Examiner. His training was as a master draftsman. He became enchanted with the Hawaiian people, and was an early advocate of the people and their rights. Well-known by these menu covers, he also produced numerous etchings and aquatints which are also highly sought after by today's print collectors. It is without a doubt that his favorite model, Marion, was the inspiration for most of these menu covers. The condition of a print is very important, with crisp clean images commanding a higher price than those that are foxed, etc. Star-Bulletin Christmas prints in original wraps command a higher price.
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