White, Frederick John, fl 1837-1848 :[Black fern-tree, New Zealand. Raupo hut, with a Pakeha by a fire, a seated Maori and a tree fern, amidst tall tree trunks. 1848 or 1849?]

Red and blue European flowers in the foreground, otherwise a scene in a clearing in a native forest, probably in the Hutt Valley. The tree fern is prominent in the centre of the view. Copied from a lithograph by William Swainson called Black fern-tree.

Copied from a now lost drawing by William Swainson of a black tree-fern (mamaku). The drawing was lithographed in 1849, with the image reversed, by Cuthbert Clarke at St John's College, Auckland. For the only known surviving copy of the lithograph (at the British Library) see the photograph at A-144-090. Janetta Maria Cookson also made two copies of this and another lithograph, with the image reversed, rather than of the original drawing - see A-048-049 and A-048-050. White's copy has the European man by the fire as an additional figure that is not present in the lithograph. See also White's "Fern tree" (A-292-075) which is similarly copied from Swainson, with an additional figure. White possibly made his copies at St John's College, since Collinson (and very probably White, a fellow member of the Royal Marines) visited the College in 1849.

Other Titles - Swainson, William, 1789-1855

Inscriptions: Recto - bottom right - Fred. J. White [in red-brown brushpoint]

Quantity: 1 watercolour(s).

Physical Description: Watercolour & gouache on paper, 331 x 236 mm

Transfers: From Manuscripts & Archives - March 1993, from [MS 50].