Laslett, Thomas.

providing a detailed record of four expeditions to New Zealand in 1833-34, 1837-38, 1839-40, and 1841-43, an expedition to Burma, mainly Moulmein (Mawlamyine) and environs, 1847-49, an expedition in the Anatolian Highlands around Bursa, 1859, and an expedition through Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1860, all whilst employed as purveyor of timber to the Admiralty, each being an autograph revised fair copy written up from his original journals with a preface, the first with a pencil tracing of a sketch of a tattooed Maori chief, six prebound notebooks, c.950 numbered pages, plus blanks, 4to, various bindings, 1877-1883, bindings worn, one volume with upper cover nearly detached 

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"...Pahi is a man of huge dimensions and extraordinary strength, he is reputed to have been a great fighting man, and at the time of my visit to this part of the coast he had considerable influence in and about the Mercury Bay district. One horrible idea clings to his name in that he has the reputation of being a great Cannibal, and while he was with me he did not care to disguise the fact, that he had then a relish for human flesh. His people who feared him a great deal, said they perfectly understood when he had a craving for it, by his eating all the raw lizards he could get hold of..."

AN EXCEPTIONAL AND UNPUBLISHED RECORD OF TRAVEL IN THE MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY, ESPECIALLY OF NEW ZEALAND IN THE YEARS BEFORE LARGE-SCALE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT. Thomas Laslett (1811-1887) travelled to remote areas to procure high-quality timber that would be suitable for Royal Navy ships, notably kauri in New Zealand. He provides a vivid account of the tiny temporary European settlements set up in the heart of the native bush in the area around the Bay of Islands in the 1830s, and their close and sometimes tense relationships with local Maori tribes on whom they depended for labour. He describes the forest itself with a  professional eye, including awe-struck accounts of great kauris such as the "old woman", which was 48 feet in circumference and estimated to be more than 1300 years old. He provides much fascinating detail about the Maori, including feasts, visits to local pa, customs such as the taboo and tattoos, disputes between and within tribes (including instances of slavery, murder, and cannibalism) and also with Europeans. He witnessed a terrifying ritualised haka that occurred when two war parties met as well as a huge mourning ceremony following a chief's death, and provides good pen portraits of Maori chiefs with whom he came into contact. His later visits came after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and include references to the incipient European settlements that followed the establishment of the New Zealand Company, as well as tensions over land purchases and issues of sovereignty between the Maori and the new government.

Laslett gives an interesting account of the transportation of political prisoners from Quebec to Hobart and Sydney on his ship, HMS Buffalo, in 1839, and provides detailed accounts of these developing settlements themselves. He also describes the wreck of the Buffalo in July 1840. 

Having shown his skills in locating timber in New Zealand, Laslett was sent on several other missions to remote places with important timber stocks. His sojourn in Burma that began in 1847 was to check teak prior to its transportation to Britain. His journal includes visits to timber yards, the ceremonies and holidays that punctuated the year, from the lively water festival to the extraordinary mass cremation of priests or "phoongies", and an exploration of the dhammathat cave system. His final two expeditions, both within the Ottoman Empire, were to search for untapped sources of high-quality oak in remote regions. His final journal describes the wildness of Bosnia-Herzegovina; he details a challenging traverse through wild bandit-infested forests, finding overnight shelter in peasant's huts and ruined monasteries.

Each volume is preceded by a preface where Laslett explains that these journals were written up from his original notes in his retirement. They were presumably produced for family members. Another set of his New Zealand journals is found in the Turnbull Library. See illustration on p.52.