This sumptuous illustrated volume shows the hitherto unpublished pictures taken by the naval commander Paul-Emile Miot (1827-1900) in the early days of photography. Taken during an expedition to Polynesia, the photographs are accompanied by drawings and objects from Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands.

When the French naval commander Paul-Emile Miot was sent to Oceania aboard the "Astree" in 1869, he took his photographic equipment with him. The pictures he took on this voyage, which are now published in this volume, are unique not only because they represent the first photographic record...