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COOK, Capt. James (1728-1779)
A Voyage towards the South Pole, and Round the World. Performed in His Majesty's Ships the Resolution and Adventure, In the years 1772, 1773, 1774, and 1775 ... Second edition
London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell,, 1777. 2 volumes, quarto (12 1/4 x 9 1/2 inches). Engraved portrait frontispiece of Cook by J. Basire after W. Hodges and 63 engraved plates, charts and maps (16 double-page, 15 folding), 1 folding letterpress table, the two portrait plates between pp. 308 and 311 in vol.I shaved into image area as usual despite being completely uncut. Original boards, recent blue cloth chemises, all within two blue morocco-backed cloth box, 'spines' gilt. Provenance: The Yonge family (Puslinch House, Newton Ferrers, Devon: house name inscribed on titles).
The Puslinch House copy of the second edition of the second voyage: a very rare example in the original boards.
This edition appeared in the same year as the first edition and demonstrates the level of interest in Cook's discoveries. 'The success of Cook's first voyage led the Admiralty to send him on a second expedition ... to circumnavigate the globe as far south as possible in search of any southern continents. Cook proved there was no "Terra Australis" which supposedly lay between New Zealand and South America, but became convinced that there must be land beyond the ice fields. The men of this expedition became the first to cross the Antarctic Circle. Further visits were made to New Zealand, and on two great sweeps Cook made an astonishing series of discoveries including Easter Island, the Marquesas, Tahiti and the Society Islands, Niue, the Tonga Islands, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, and a number of smaller islands. Rounding Cape Horn, on the last part of the voyage, Cook discovered and charted South Georgia, after which he called at Cape Town, St. Helena and Ascension, and the Azores. Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Georg were the official botanists on board. Dr. Anders Sparrmann, a Swedish scientist, joined the expedition on the way out at Cape Town. William Hodges was the artist with the expedition ... this voyage produced a vast amount of information concerning the Pacific peoples and islands, proved the value of the chronometer as an aid in finding longitude, and improved techniques for preventing scurvy ' (Hill).
Beddie 1217; cf. Sabin 16245.
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#17762 $19,500.00 
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© 2002-2005 Donald A. Heald
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