Description
8vo, 250pp. Hardcover in good condition with intact but discoloured and chipped price-clipped d/w protected in clear covering and slightly weak though sound hinges, text in good condition with no prior owner’s markings. Originally published in England in Maori in 1854 and then in English the following year, with a composite English and Maori edition done in 1885. Written originally by the Governor-in-chief of NZ this is by far the most important source-book for the basic Maori legends and for this edition the text of 1855 has been followed with normalization of the spelling of the Maori words and the addition of an index. Sixteen b/w drawings illustrate several of the myths.