Hone Heke, Maori King coloured engraving within page, c1888.

$75.00

Antique Print. HONE HEKE, Hone Wiremu Heke Pokai (1807-1850) was a powerful Ngapuhi leader in the Bay of Islands region of Northern New Zealand.

Missionary-educated, Hone Heke was not only noted for his prowess as a warrior, but also for his intelligence and his achievements in looking after his people’s interests. He was highly influential in the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, but later became a leading opponent of British government as they undermined Maori chiefly authority.

This is a small original wood engraving circa 1888 (with fine later hand-colour). Engraved from the drawing by influential artist, Julian Rossi Ashton (1851-1942), for The Picturesque Atlas of Australasia which was published in parts between 1886 and 1888 to commemorate 100 years since First Fleet settlement at Port Jackson (Sydney). It was not an Atlas is the usual sense of the word although 30 maps were included. Leading artists were commissioned to illustrate the discovery, settlement and development of Australia, New Zealand, and other neighbouring countries in the Pacific, providing a wonderful overview of the region, and life in colonial days.

The 700 illustrations for this wonderful publication were some of the finest engravings produced anywhere in the world in the late nineteenth century. This little engraving is within a page of text.