N.Z. Heads of New Zealand Chiefs Curiously Tatowed. Middleton c1777.

by Cook, Captain James

New Zealand Maori Chiefs with 'Curious Tattoos', and A New Zealand Maori War Canoe.

Original copperplate engraving for “Middleton’s Complete System of Geography” which included ethnography and architecture as well as topography, published in London between 1777 and 1778 by Charles Theodore Middleton.

This lovely engraving is derived from the reports of the voyages of Captain Cook. Published in black and white, it has been tinted with watercolour at some time since publication. There is faint offsetting of print from the preceding and following pages, and waterstaining to the lower right edge of the page.

Page size is 23 x 36cm (9 x 14 inches). Measurement to plate mark is 20 x 29cm (8 x 11.5 inches).