Item #3806749 Oceanic Group… American Group…. Ernst George RAVENSTEIN.

Oceanic Group… American Group…

London J. Reynolds & Sons 174 Strand nd, circa 1875.

Hand coloured lithograph, 430 x 690mm; mounted and framed.

Peoples of the Polynesian islands

A large nineteenth century lithograph showing full length portraits of people from Oceania and America. To the left of the lithograph are depicted examples of "typical" Oceanic inhabitants - Malay, Sandwich Islands, Marquesas Islander, New Zealander, North and South Australia, whilst to the right are Papuan, Patagonian, Araucanian, Chippeway and Cherokee. An interest in ethnography took a central place in the lives of educated Europeans as science and world history were not yet too esoteric and specialised for the average person to understand. Maritime discovery was enthusiastically followed by both the French and English nations and the savants of both countries had a keen intellectual curiosity in the ethnography of the newly-discovered countries.

A large nineteenth century lithograph showing full length portraits of people from Oceania and America. To the left of the lithograph are depicted examples of "typical" Oceanic inhabitants - Malay, Sandwich Islands, Marquesas Islander, New Zealander, North and South Australia, whilst to the right are Papuan, Patagonian, Araucanian, Chippeway and Cherokee. An interest in ethnography took a central place in the lives of educated Europeans as science and world history were not yet too esoteric and specialised for the average person to understand. Maritime discovery was enthusiastically followed by both the French and English nations and the savants of both countries had a keen intellectual curiosity in the ethnography of the newly-discovered countries.

Published in London, this image was designed by Ernst George Ravenstein (1834-1913) a German- English geographer and cartographer. Born in Main, Germany he became a British subject and worked in the Topographical Department of the British War Office from 1855-75. He was the first person to receive the Victoria gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society for geographical research.

This lithograph is number three in a series, Varieties of the Human Species and from the large scale format it was possibly produced as an educational teaching aid.

Price (AUD): $2,850.00

US$1,871.93   Other currencies

Ref: #3806749