“ÎLES SANDWICH: MAISONS DE KRAÏMOKOU, Premier Ministre du Roi; FABRICATION DES ÉTOFFES”
[Sandwich Islands: Houses of Kalanimoku, Prime Minister of the King; Fabric Making]
Artists: ALPHONSE PELLION (1796-1868) [drawn by]
TECHNIQUE: STIPPLE ENGRAVING [contemporary hand-colour]
Early and interesting depiction of Hawaii Island.
The esteemed Prime Minister Kalanimoku standing in the doorway of one of his houses in the company of his wife Likelike, shown with her right arm raised and about to strike a sheet of kapa.
In the foreground is an Olo board, the largest of the Hawaiian wood surfboards.
Reserved for royalty, they ranged in size from 1.8 to 8 meters.
Rare hand coloured stipple engraving, from the very rare French voyage account, "Voyage autour du monde" under the command of Louis de Freycinet, who was also on the Baudin voyage.
Artist and naval draughtsman, was a midshipman aboard l'Uranie under the command of Louis de Freycinet expedition in 1817;
Alphonse Pellion assisted the official artists J. Arago and A. Taunay during the three-year voyage around the world.
Original stipple engraving printed on wove paper with contemporary attractive hand-colours.
From: 'Voyage autour du monde' : entrepris par ordre du Roi ... execute sur les corvettes de S.M. l'Uranie et la Physicienne, pendant les annees 1817, 1818, 1819 et 1820 ...1825 / par M. Louis de Freycinet. Paris : Chez Pillet Ainé, Imprimeur-Libraire, Rue des Grands - Augustins, N. 7, 1826.
SIZE: 320mm(H) x 490mm(L) [sheet]
Superb impression with attractive contemporary hand-colours; full margins.
In excellent condition, light small foxing in the margins.