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. In which is included Captain Furneaux's Narrative of his Proceedings in the Adventure during the Separation of the Ships ...Fourth Edition.
First edition. London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1777. 3 volumes: 2 text volumes, 4to (11 1/8 x 8 7/8 inches); atlas volume, folio (20 1/8 x 13 1/4 inches). Text: engraved portrait of Cook by J. Basire after Wm. Hodges, 1 folding letterpress table; Atlas: engraved folding map, 62 engraved plates, maps and charts (unfolded).
Text: expertly bound to style in 18th-century russia, flat spines gilt in compartments. Atlas: expertly bound to style in half 18th-century russia over contemporary marbled paper covered boards, spines uniform to the text.
First Edition of Cook's second voyage describing his attempt to circumnavigate the globe as far south as possible in search for a southern continent.
"The success of Cook's first voyage led the Admiralty to send him on a second expedition, described in the present work, which was to circumnavigate the globe as far south as possible in search of any southern continents." (Hill 358). On his monumental second voyage aboard the HMS Resolution, Cook became the first to cross the Antarctic Circle and delve deep into the ice. "Further visits were made to New Zealand, and on two great sweeps Cook made an astonishing series of discoveries and rediscoveries 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 ... This voyage produced a vast amount of information concerning the Pacific peoples and islands, proved the value of the chronometer as an aid to finding longitude, and improved techniques for preventing scurvy." (Hill 358). The plates to Cook's second voyage are largely after the expedition artist William Hodges, who personally oversaw the engraving process, which was accomplished by among the most noted engravers of the day: West, Bartolozzi, Byrne and others. Copies of Cook's second voyage are invariably found in two volumes, with the maps and plates cut down and/or awkwardly folded and interspersed within the text. As the plates were printed larger than the text block, many of the portraits and views found in the usual 2-volume issue have been trimmed to or even within the image. The present set, however, includes copies of the plates entirely uncut and unfolded and edge bound in a separate folio atlas volume. Furthermore, the impressions of these plates are dark and rich and far better than the images generally found in the usual 2-volume issue. It is unclear why or for whom sets with a separate folio atlas were produced, but it seems likely that this deluxe version was intended for members of the Admiralty or for presentation. It is very rare to find the second voyage in this desirable form. The usual Cook and Antarctic references make no mention of such an issue (though do identify a very small number of extant folio volumes containing proof impressions of plates, similarly unfolded and uncut). "Cook earned his place in history by opening up the Pacific to western civilization and by the foundation of British Australia. The world was given for the first time an essentially complete knowledge of the Pacific Ocean and Australia, and Cook proved once and for all that there was no great southern continent, as had always been believed. He also suggested the existence of antarctic land in the southern ice ring, a fact which was not proved until the explorations of the nineteenth century" (Printing and the Mind of Man p.135).
Beddie 1216; cf. Hill (2004) 358; cf. Holmes 24; cf. Printing and the Mind of Man 223; Rosove 77.A; cf. Sabin 16245.
Item #34845
Price: $24,000.00