TAPLIN, Reverend George (editor)

The Folklore, Manners, Customs, and Languages of the South Australian Aborigines: gathered from Inquiries made by Authority of the South Australian Government. First Series [all published]

Adelaide, E. Spiller, Acting Government Printer, 1879.

Octavo, viii, 174, [2], 24 ('The Grammar of the Narrinyeri Tribe'), xii (lithographed 'Facsimiles of Letters Written by Aborigines', one leaf folding), [2], 25-28 (index) pages including a page of lithographed music plus 9 lithographs (from drawings by Aboriginal artists) and 7 original albumen silver photographs (3 are approximately 105 × 145 mm; 4 are approximately 115 × 95 mm) mounted on captioned leaves.

Original green cloth attractively blocked in gilt on the front board and in blind at the rear; spine ruled and lettered in gilt; covers a little worn and marked, with the binding a little shaken; acidic paper tanned, with the folding facsimile document splitting at one fold; mounts a little cockled; trifling loss to the corner-tip of one photograph; page 29 printed close to the right-hand edge (an imposition error during production); a few mild signs of age and handling; a very good copy of a rare and important work, with the photographs in excellent condition. An early ownership signature on an initial blank is proving difficult to decipher (Ruppard? Sheppard?).

The original photographs that illustrate the book are almost certainly the work of Captain Samuel Sweet (see Robert Holden: 'Photography in Colonial Australia. The Mechanical Eye and the Illustrated Book', 1988). We have handled a number of copies of this work, and this copy conforms with what we suggest might be called the first, and most desirable, issue of these photographs. The substance of the book was derived from a 48-question circular compiled by George Taplin and 'distributed to all the keepers of aborigines' depots throughout the colony, and to all persons who are known to be acquainted with the manners, customs, and languages of the aborigines'; the value of the work may be judged by the editor's remark in the introduction 'that much information has been elicited, and that most of the papers show that the writers have used their powers of observation in an intelligent manner'. The untimely death of Taplin in June 1879 at the early age of 47 may account for the failure of further volumes in the series to materialize.

Ferguson 16711; Holden 105 (and pages 49-51).

Item #144271

Price (AUD): $2,200.00
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