Explorations in the Interior of the Labrador Peninsula the country of the Montagnais and Nasquapee Indians.

A DETAILED SURVEY OF LABRADOR

First edition. 2 vols. 12 chromolithograph plates including frontispiece, 1 engraved plate and 2 maps (one folding). Further illustrations in text. 8vo. Original green pebbled cloth, spines gilt, expertly recased with original spines laid down. Enpapers refreshed, slight split to textblock after frontis of vol 1, but still sound. Frontis of vol 2 detached. Contemporary ink ownership inscription to title-pages. xv, [1], 351; xiii, [3], 304pp. London, Longman, Green, et al.

Hind's account of an expedition undertaken in the summer of 1861 to explore Labrador. "All that Mr. Hind undertakes, is done so thoroughly that little more could be indicated, to complete the exhaustion of his subject. All the peculiarities of the aboriginal races of Labrador, which a stranger would be permitted to observe, he noted [...] Mr. Hind's volumes are almost entirely occupied with incidents of Indian life and character, particularly of the Montagnais, Abenakins, and Esquimaux Indians. The engravings are illustrative of scenes in aboriginal life, or of their customs, features, and other peculiarities [...] it must be said that the whole work is a great repository of facts relating to [the First Nations]" (Field). The vast majority of the plates are brilliantly coloured and illustrate Native life and customs. Also contains much information concerning the Atlantic coast fisheries. Hind pays particular attention to the devastation wrought on Indigenous communities by over-hunting by white fur trappers. This in turn has pushed Native communities further north to what he sees as the outer limits of habitable environments. There is also an account of Père Arnaud's Roman Catholic mission in Labrador. 

 

Lande, 442; Dionne II:1645; TPL 4069. Field, 700; A.B. 7105.; Sabin, 31933; Pilling, 1801.

Stock Code: 243225