Over the Reefs by Robert Gibbings

Over the Reefs by Robert Gibbings, 1948

While at a bookstore in Berkeley, this book caught my eye. I liked the cover (doesn’t hurt that turquoise is a favorite color of mine) and I was blown away by the illustrations.

The map on the end pages promised all sorts of great destinations, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands and the Tahiti. Since I spent my honeymoon in the Cook Islands, the Bibliotiki does have a focus and soft spot for the region.

Upon reading this book, I found the first 100 pages to be a bit of slow going. It starts off in Tonga but quickly moves to Samoa and stays there for while. So long in fact they made Gibbings a Chief of one of their islands. Though once they made him Chief the book gets less choppy. It was also by then I realized he wasn’t going to cover Fiji or New Zealand except in passing reference.

More then half way into the book he arrives in the Cook Islands and it includes one of the best passages in the book:

One of the most ignominious acts in a man’s life is repeated daily when he puts on his trousers. I know of no garment more detrimental to his natural dignity then those limp tubes into which he inserts his legs. Is there anything in the world more limp then an empty pair of trousers?…

Finally, some personality! He goes one to decry that the Rarotongans’ of the Cook Islands have forsaken their traditional dress for the white man’s way, which saddens him. He isn’t very happy with the island of Rarotonga but then moves on to visit Atiu, Mauke, Mitiero, Mangaia and Aitutaki all in the Cooks, which generally fare better for him. So much so that I was beginning to worry he wouldn’t make it to Tahiti.

With just 27 pages left in book he finally sails to Tahiti, he soon earned my interest and respect with this passage:

Soon I after I left Tahiti in 1929, I received a letter from James Norman Hall, with whom I had stayed. He wrote: ‘We have pulled down the old native house in which you lived and are building a bigger one instead. It is yours whenever you wish, for as long as you wish. We call it “The House that waits for Robert.”

This is the house.

 

Now I LOVE James Normal Hall and became instantly jealous that JNH had not build a house for me. Gibbings, that lucky bastard. And he didn’t make it back to Tahiti for 18 years! Sadly, when Gibbings does make it back JNH is in America so he missed him. I was hoping for reports of them heading out to Quinn’s for beer and dancing.

At this point I am confused why this man who is a big deal in Tahiti has only left 27 pages for it, I look to see other books he wrote and saw he wrote “Iorana: A Tahitian Journal” in 1932 so I guess he got it covered. I then also realized I just saw that book in a small Californian town but it was $35 and I am cheap. Geez, now I will have to pick it up.

I finished reading Over the Reefs and it was fine, still like the illustrations better then the text. I then went on to research about Gibbings and saw that he had led an interesting life. He was instrumental in bringing back wood engravings as a form of art and illustrated a ton of books. He did a lot of traveling and had many ladies in his life. He also was a pioneer in diving and would make illustrations under water. Check out this website of his vintage diving costume. That just looked like a bad idea.

Below are some sweet illustrations from this book, I tried to not go too crazy with my scanner. Enjoy.

Oh, if someone could build me a “House that waits for Bibliotiki” preferably in Hawaii or really anywhere, I would be most appreciative.

Yankee Whalers in the South Seas by A.B.C. Whipple

Yankee Whalers in the South Seas by A.B.C. Whipple 1954

I picked up this book at a library book sale about 4 years ago. I was a little torn buying it since I never gave much thought to whaling but I did already own In the Heart of the Sea in the Bibliotiki, which is about a doomed whaling voyage (not read yet). But I looked at the map and thought it looked interesting.

This book turned out to be pretty interesting. It has 12 chapters of stories about ships, including some stories that overlaped. I learned many things like if someone died at sea they usually tossed you overboard but with the officers they put you in a barrel of rum to preserve you. Kinda gives new meaning to "aged rum."

In the chapter about wives and children on ships it talked about six year old Laura Jernegan who kept a ships log while her father sailed the Roman on October 29, 1868. The very cool thing about our modern age is her is a link to her log. Fascinating stuff.

I rather enjoyed the last chapter where we find out the author is completely obsessed with maritime history and drags his wife and children to museums and libraries. I liked this quote as a cautionary tale to other martime fanatics " ...the Seaport Store can be counted on to provide for about half and hour of uninterrupted research; whether or not it is an expensive half hour depends upon how well you have brought up your wife." hmm

I wasn't loving the illustrations in the book, not really my kinda style.

But I did like the cute whale hiding under the dust jacket.

Faery Lands of the South Seas by Nordhoff and Hall

Faery Lands of the South Seas by James Norman Hall and Charles Bernard Nordoff. 1921

After I read Lure of Tahiti, I realized that Nordoff and Hall were a big deal in the world of South Pacific literature. I picked up Faery Lands for $15, 1st edition, no dust jacket at a local bookstore. Being cheap, $15 is about as much as I will spend but I liked the cover and wanted to read something by the fellows.

This is the first book they wrote together and in a future post I will review their Bounty trilogy, which is really what they are known for.

It starts with the authors in Paris at the end of World War I, dreaming of going to the south pacific. Somehow they made this happen because the book skips right into them about to make landfall on the island of Tahiti. At that point the authors went their separate ways but had made plans to rendezvous at a distant date.

One thing that is totally charming about this book are the illustrations throughout it. The one called Landfall precedes

different sections of the book.

Also included in the book are about 29 sketches in the book that really give you that island feel.

I am also a sucker for when you get a little illustration at the beginning of each chapter.

Content wise, some of the stories were really great and some kind of a snooze. The stories that Hall wrote I liked a little better. This book is great example of classic south pacific stories, though. If you want to read it immediately (and see more of the illustrations, but not the sketches) you can read it on Google Books. Or perhaps you would like to listen to it, well you can do that here.

If you want to learn more about James Norman Hall, click on the official site about him. One day I will make it to Tahiti for visit his museum.

And lastly, do you have a spare $17,500.00? If so then you can buy the whole collection of their books here. If anyone wants to buy it for me, I will write you a very nice thank you note!