The first edition of the Pilgrim's Progress in Maori - 1854 - "He moemoea, otira, Ko nga korero o te huarahi" - Printed in Wellington, New Zealand

The first edition of the Pilgrim's Progress in Māori - 1854 - Printed in Wellington, New Zealand

He moemoea, otira, Ko nga korero o te huarahi : e rere atu nei te tangata i tenei ao, a, tapoko noa ano ki tera ao atu

“The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan”

He mea perehi e Te Toki, ki Weretana, Poneke, Poneke, 1854 

Published by Robert Stokes in Wellington, New Zealand in 1854

-Translated by Henry Kemp 

-[4], 225 [3] pages and 6 engravings (complete) 

Half leather Binding of the General Assembly of New Zealand with withdrawal stamp to inner cover. Bumps to corners and some minor wear to spine. Scattered foxing and small tears to bottom of p5 (not affecting text). This copy has New Zealand provenance, coming from the Old parliamentary library of New Zealand - which was dissolved by the New Zealand Government.

This is the first edition of the pilgrim’s progress by John Bunyan - Printed in Wellington in 1854. Missionaries prized the text for its allegorical narrative which followed the story of a Christian from sin to salvation. The translation was arranged by Sir George Grey - the governor of New Zealand at the time - who wanted to encourage Māori literacy and had a huge appreciation for their literary history.

 “The Pilgrim’s progress by John Bunyan ‘Hoani Paniana’ first published in 1678, with six lithographs by T.S.Ralph and in a style uniform with the edition of Robinson Crusoe issued in 1852. As with Robinson Crusoe, Māori were reported to be disappointed to discover the story was an allegory rather than true” (BIM)

This important early Māori work rarely appears on the open market and is a fascinating piece of early New Zealand Printing. 

Worldcat states 3 copies only in the USA (Hawaii, Iowa, California). Most remaining copies are in New Zealand and Australia.