A Naturalist Among the Headhunters.

[nomad]

A good read is A Naturalist Among the Headhunters (1890) by Charles Morris Woodford. A rare book but the Kessinger Legacy reprint is excellent. Early exploration of the Solomon Islands by a naturalist-collector. Some great accounts of hunting butterflies in the Solomons by a collector who should be more well known. Some fascinating images are included.

 Warning * Do not  buy the cheaper reprints, they are often full of typos and errors.

[wollastoni]

Thanks Peter, I will try and find it.

The title made me think about this picture I took in 2009 in the Baliem Valley, West Papua

Kurulu village (also called Jiwika), near a good collecting spot for Delias argentata, pheres, ligata, microsticha and the recently described Lycaenidae Epimastidia yiwikana. 

[jhyatt]

Woodford's book is indeed very good, and has some fascinating photos. John Tennent's excellent and definitive "Butterflies of the Solomon Islands" book contains a detailed discussion of Woodford's capture of the first male specimen of O. victoriae (pp. 43-44). Apparently the future Resident Commissioner of the Solomons netted the bug while stark naked after a chase and a nasty fall along the beach!
Cheers,
jh

[nomad]

Great picture Olivier. Yes I have read Tennent's account, great. It is in this book, he was taken a bath in a lagoon, surrounded by armed natives in case of a surprise attack from the Malaita tribesmen, when in front of the entire ship's crew,  he dashed down the beach naked after the first specimen of the male O. victoriae.   Shortly before Woodford had arrived here a labour recruiting vessel had been attacked. He would later become the first British colonial administrator of the islands.

[nomad]

Woodford among headhunters.


Another great book, is The Naturalist among Headhunters : Charles Morris Woodford in the Western Pacific (2014) by David Russell Lawernce. Australian National University Press, Paperback, 420pp. Fascinating account of the life of Woodford with lots of interesting images taken by Woodford. The picture shown above is the cover to this book.

[larrycurlymoe]

There is another book called A Naturalist in Cannibal Land, published in 1913. I don't remember the author's name. I think a pdf of the book can be downloaded through Insectnet, but you'll have to search for it. I downloaded it several years ago but still haven't read it. I skimmed over a few pages and it looks like a good read.

[Adam Cotton]

It's by the famous collector A. S. Meek. Here's the link to the book on BHL:

www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/18340

Adam.

[nomad]

There  are now more books and articles on Woodford than on Meek, and the latter is much the better known collector. In fact there are no books on Meek, and only one portrait of him, as far as I know. 

[jhyatt]

In re books on Meek: John Tennent may just possibly have one planned or in the works; he once told me about meeting & interviewing a descendant (granddaughter? I've forgotten) of Meek's in Australia.
jh

[nomad]

Yes, that is true. A book on Meek will be forthcoming from John Tennent at some point in the future. It will be quite exciting to finally find out, what new material he has found in Australia and hopefully there will be further images of the great collector. He of course, would have had easy access to all of Meek's letters to Rothschild, Jordan and Hartert  at the BMNH.