The Tahitian Imprints of the London Missionary Society 1810-1834 [SIGNED]

Oslo, Norway: La Coquille Qui Chante, 1950. 1st Edition . Near Fine. 6 x 9.25 inches (15 x 23.5 cm). Signed by Author. Limited edition of 133 copies. This is copy number 43. Originally issued in paperback, this copy has been professionally rebound in hardback with brown buckram binding and retaining the original card wraps. Slight tanning to endpapers, otherwise excellent. Inscribed and signed by co-author Bjarne Kroepelien to first blank: 'My friend Charles A.O. Fox, with best regards Bjarne Kroepelien, 27.11.50.' Kroepelien travelled to Polynesia in 1917 and spent two years in Tahiti. He married one of the daughters of Chief Teriiero but his wife died in a Spanish flu outbreak that killed a third of the islands' population in 1918. On returning to his native Norway, Kroepelien assembled an important collection of books on the South Sea Islands. On his death the collection was bequeathed to Oslo University Library and a detailed catalogue was published as 'Bibliotheca Polynesiana'. That catalogue refers to this volume as Kroepelien's most important work, holding a unique position in Scandinavian Bibliography. Although the colophon states 133 copies, there were several unnumbered copies and the print run is estimated to be c.300 copies. An excellent signed example of this very scarce title. . Overall condition is Near Fine. Size: 6 x 9.25 inches (15 x 23.5 cm). Hardback. Printed pages: 96