The HMS ‘Curaçao’ cruised the South Sea Islands - including Norfolk Island, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, New Hebrides, and the Solomons - with Brenchley aboard as amateur naturalist and observer. Many of the specimens and artifacts he collected on this voyage ended up in the Maidstone Museum and Bentif Art Gallery and the British Museum. This volume has particularly fine text engravings depicting aspects of daily life of the South Sea Islanders: individual portraits of the King and Queen of Tonga, a Samoan chief; ear, nose and neck ornaments; native art and architecture. The 50 natural history plates include the following: 21 Bird plates with 27 figures; 4 Reptile plates with 9 figures; 10 Fish plates with 12 figures; 7 Shell plates with 32 figures; 8 Insect plates with 27 figures. All plates have tissue guards and accompanying text descriptions. The tropical Bird (by J Smit) and Butterfly (by A G Butler) plates are particularly fine, with bright hues, subtle shading, and exquisite attention to detail.