The Cyclopedia of Fiji (Illustrated). A complete historical and commercial review of Fiji....An epitome of progress... A compendium of statistics and data concerning the group never yet compiled or brought together in a single publication. Descriptive and biographical facts, figures and illustrations.

Sydney: The Cyclopedia Company of Fiji, 1907. First edition, 4to, pp.8, 332, [46], many illustrations. With, bound in, a typescript index of persons appearing, and a specimen part of the Cyclopedia for presentation to subscribers. A very good copy in modern buckram. Original wrappers of specimen part preserved within. This Cyclopedia was created by the publishers to serve as "a standard work of reference on Fiji" to "focus attention on the magnificent resources of the group and its tropic wonders". It provides detailed information, with copious illustrations, on the the history, the people, the industries and trade, the culture and the geography of the island group, including specific details such as marriage and funerary rites, and suspicions of cannibalism and child sacrifices. Much of the information was supplied by the Fiji Times and Western Pacific Herald. Perhaps the most important part of this work is the large set of 893 portraits that accompany the biographies of prominent colonial figures. These show not just the rich and famous but also ordinary citizens of each community. This serves as a crucial genealogical resource that provides likely the only surviving information of hundreds of ancestors. The complaint about an insufficient index of the portrait collage seems to have been rectified in this work. Only 1 copy in COPAC, BL only seems to have reprint.