For Gwen and Evan Olins, collecting is far beyond a pastime, it's a passion. Now their passion is captured in a book they co-wrote, "Lei in a Bottle: Collecting Hawaiian Perfume Bottles."

"Does a thing have an aura? Is it possible for an object to actually speak to you? I believe it can," the Olinses write.

The heart of the book is the couple's collection of 1930s to 1960s Hawaiian perfume bottles. The soul of the book, however, lies in the love of lei.

This unique Island art form, perfume bottles carved from rare Hawaiian woods, was inspired by the tradition of lei giving.

The book offers a glimpse into the art and aesthetics of pre-statehood Hawai'i, when visitors traveled here by ocean liner and fell under the spell of the lei. They longed to take a lei home with them so the scent could transport them back to the Islands they loved. However, in pre-jet travel days, this was not possible, so why not capture the scent in a perfume?

The Olinses credit Alice Spaulding Bowen, designer and manager of Gump's, the now-gone Waikiki department store, with the idea of a "Hand-carved native wood container to house the perfumes of Island flowers."

"A single perfume bottle engaged, with great artistry, the sense of smell, touch and sight," the Olinses write. The book tracks the history of the bottles from Bowen to John Oya, Don Blanding, Hula-Lei, Browny Perfumes and other shapers of the territorial aesthetic.

In their book, the authors unveil their extensive collection (150 carved flacons) while offering helpful information on the ins and outs of collecting. They are the former owners of Hula Heaven, a prominent vintage Hawaiiana shop in Kailua, Kona, that closed in 2003 and went exclusively online.

The 84-page soft-cover book, from Hula Moon Press, sells for $24.95 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts gift shop, some Borders stores and online at www.hulaheaven.com. Information: 808-329-7885 or hulaheaven@aol.com.