Totem

218 pages. From limited edition of 1600 copies. "Concerned entirely with the Haidas of the Queen Charlotte Islands of the last century, the intricacies of the kinship patterns of the great families, and how they saw themselves as part of a fantastic, but in its own terms, logical, cosmos, and most of all how this was all expressed in their remarkable architecture with its perfectly integrated massive carved and painted embellishments, the great totem poles of the Haidas." - from Foreward. "The documentary photographs that survive are among the few remaining records which illustrate the richness and variety of Haida monumental art. Of the more than five hundred carved poles which appear in the plates, only about fifty were removed to museums for safekeeping. The remainder have perished entirely or survive at the village sites as decayed fragments overgrown with the lush vegetation of the islands." - from Preface. Light external wear and soiling to cream-coloured cloth-covered boards. No external markings. Discreet bookplate and bit of writing inside front board. Blindstamp to lower corner of title page. Bit of writing in upper left corner of title page. Remnant of card pocket inside back board. Binding tight. A quality copy of this magnificent work. Book