This delicate drawing first appeared in Teodoro’s Raccolata di stampe … di varie nazioni. (1784). It is based on plates 39 and 20 from Cook’s Second Voyage, drawn by the voyage artist, William Hodges.
There are two accompanying notes. The first in the hand of James Edge-Partington (1854-1930) stating: “This appears to be another portrait of the native of New Caledonia illustrated in Capt. Cook’s Second Voyage.” He’s referring to two plates, 39 and 20, pp. 119 and 121 in the second volume.
Teodoro took the liberty of filling in the gaps to create a full portrait with mixed results, which the second note by Dorota Starzecka, assistant keeper of Oceania at the British Museum, and Brian Cranstone, of the British Museum of Natural History, clarifies. Regarding the details not taken from Hodge’s images, they write: “feather/leaf skirt is incorrect … only a penis sheath was worn; carrier on back is incorrect. House, water gourd and hat are correct.”
Along with Henry Christy, and Augustus Wollaston Franks, James Edge-Partington was one of a number of English ethnographic collectors active in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was “the only member of this group to publish an account of his field collecting activities and the first to publish a partial comprehensive description of his collection … “ (Neich, 59). Independently wealthy, he was free to pursue his interests, travelling widely and assembling a collection of Pacific artefacts and books. He assisted the British Museum, cataloging their collections and advising on acquisitions.
Provenance: from the Edge Partington collection.
Neich, R., James Edge-Partington: An Ethnologist of Independent Means.“ in Records of the Auckland Museum, Vol.46 (2009), pp.57-110.