Fijian newspaper
Kew Economic Botany Collection, 42906
Art Historical Description
A copy of the four-page Polynesian Gazette of Levuka, Ovalau, Fiji, dated Tuesday 27th October 1885. Printed on a single sheet of masi buco and fringed along its upper edge, it is not known why newspapers were first printed on masi. Later, during the 20th century, the Government Printer in the capital Suva sold such masi newspapers as souvenirs. It is interesting to briefly consider precisely how good a paper fine handmade Fijian masi is – easily the equal of industrially produced European papers, and significantly more durable. This was donated as a tapa sample to Kew by one N.E. Thompson in 1949.
Images
Details
Type
other
Date
1830-1865
Decorated
yes
Dimensions
89cm (length) x 61cm (width) x 0.22mm (thickness)
Manufacture
Associated Materials
Associated Techniques
bark removal; river-board cortex stripping; initial beating – wooden anvil and square beater; spreading and homogenisation; flat-faced beater smoothing
Associated Fabric Types
masi buco
Version
Entry created on 28 August 2020