ROBLEY, Major-General Horatio Gordon. Moko; or Maori Tattooing. London, Chapman and Hall, 1896.
4to. Original cloth with bevelled edges, lettered in gilt, ornamented in blind; pp. xxi, [2], 216, frontispiece in pagination, numerous illustrations in the text after the author's drawings; occasional very light spotting, otherwise very good.
First edition, scarce, of the first proper study of Maori tattoos, printed presentation slip 'From the Author' tipped in inside front cover. 'Horatio Gordon Robley, artist, collector and soldier, arrived in New Zealand on 8 January 1864. As an ensign of the 68th Durham Light Infantry, he joined General Cameron’s forces for the 29 April attack on Gate Pā, near Tauranga, one of the great battles of the New Zealand Wars. It was a shock defeat for the British: seventeen hundred of their troops were repulsed by two hundred and fifty Māori, who then vacated the pā overnight, leaving the British to gather up the numerous dead and wounded … Robley remained in New Zealand for nineteen months and made a remarkable number of pictures during that time. As well as representations of battle scenes and episodes relating to the New Zealand Wars, Robley produced studies of Māori life and art. His first major project based on his New Zealand travels and interests was Moko; or Maori tattooing, published in 1896. This book established his reputation as an authority on moko and toi moko. The first significant display of works from the Robley collection was held in the Dominion Museum lecture hall and library in July 1914' (National Library of New Zealand, online).
Provenance: From the library of the Scottish physician to Queen Victoria and two of her successors on the throne, Sir James Reid (1849-1923), with his bookplate inside front cover.
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