Moko or Maori Tattooing by ROBLEY, Major-General - 1896

Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed. Very Good- with no dust jacket. (1969). Hardcover. Some staining and fading to cloth at upper corners of boards. Some staining and rubbing to spine and margins of slipcase. No signatures. Internally very good. ; A 1969 facsimile reprint of the first edition of 1896. xxi, [3], 216 pages. Frontispiece. Red-brown cloth boards with gilt lettering on spine and front board. Black illustrations on front and rear boards. Bevelled edges to boards. Page dimensions: 285 x 220mm. With slipcase. "With 180 illustrations from drawings by the author and from photographs". [Bibliographical reference: Bagnall R856 for the first edition: "A full survey based on the author's observations and subsequent reading."] This is a high quality facsimile reprint of the scarce first edition. The book was printed by offset lithography by the Dai Nippon Printing Co. (International) Ltd. in Hong Kong, for the New Zealand publisher A. H. & A. W. Reed. The book… Read More

London: Chapman and Hall, 1896. Book. Very Good. Brown Cloth. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. xxi, 216p, frontispiece and 180 illustrations. Original brown cloth with gilt spine and front cover titles, black moko on the front and rear covers. A full survey based on the authors observations and subsequent reading. Inscription on small slip of paper, laid onto corner of half title 'Dear Mr Barber, I beg to present my book, G.R.' Loosely enclosed a handwritten note in black ink, appears to be Robley's hand dated 10 March 96 - 'General Robley says that he has adopted as a motto to his work on New Zealand tattoo a line from Virgil Aen: VIII & altering one word.' The note refers to the custom of tattooing dying out. .

London: Chapman and Hall, Limited, 1896. Very good plus.. First edition of this classic study of Maori tattooing, profusely illustrated with photographs and Robley's own drawings. Robley, an amateur artist with a deep interest in Maori culture, had a genuine passion for recording the intricate designs, techniques, and history of the intricate art of tā moko; he was also a soldier and, notoriously, a collector of mokomakai: preserved, tattooed human heads, sought after and debased as objects of commerce and display by European and American collectors and museums alike. Robley's meticulous illustrations, photographs, and descriptions have become an invaluable resource for historians and revivalists of traditional Maori arts, preserving unique images of an art form and cultural practice that, at the very same time, imperialistic forces were beginning to efface. An indispensable study. 11" x 9" Original gilt-stamped brown cloth boards, with decoration stamped in black. Black endpapers. Illustrated with… Read More