A complete set of the three official voyage accounts.
London: Strahan & Cadell; Strahan & Cadell; Nicol & Cadell, 1773-1785.
Together eight volumes, quarto, and folio atlas; a good set in contemporary calf bindings, unmatched between the voyages but uniformly rebacked at a later date, spines gilt with double labels; the atlas rebacked at the same time with matching spine over original marbled sides.
Cook's three voyages: the official accounts
The full series of the official narratives of Cook's voyages has always been seen as the cornerstone of any collection of books relating to Australia or the Pacific. Each of the three narratives is illustrated with marvellous engravings based on the work of the official artists on the voyages, including Parkinson, Hodges, and Webber, and the series stands as the great monument to Cook's achievements.
The full series of the official narratives of Cook's voyages has always been seen as the cornerstone of any collection of books relating to Australia or the Pacific. Each of the three narratives is illustrated with marvellous engravings based on the work of the official artists on the voyages, including Parkinson, Hodges, and Webber, and the series stands as the great monument to Cook's achievements.
These were the best-sellers of the second half of the eighteenth century; very expensive when published, they sold out within a few days of publication. Their popularity meant that many copies were almost literally read to pieces; as a result, good sets of the voyages have become relatively scarce.
Sets of Cook's voyages are seen in many combinations of editions: this set comprises the preferred second issue of the first edition of the first voyage; the second edition of the second voyage; and the third edition of the third voyage, which here has a second set of the 24 charts usually found only in the text volumes.
The set is made up as follows:
FIRST VOYAGE. HAWKESWORTH, John. An Account of the Voyages… for making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere…
Three volumes, quarto, 52 engraved plates and maps, many folding. London, 1773.
First edition, second and more complete issue with the "Chart of the Straights of Magellan" and "Description of the Cuts" (missing in most examples of the first edition).
SECOND VOYAGE. COOK, James. A Voyage towards the South Pole, and Round the World…
Two volumes, quarto, with 63 engraved plates and maps. London, 1777.
Second edition.
THIRD VOYAGE. COOK, James and James KING. A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean…
Three volumes, quarto, with 24 engraved maps and coastal profiles, and a second set of those engravings also found in the separate folio Atlas, with its two folding maps and 61 engraved plates. London, 1785.
Third edition, the earlier issue before the addition of the extra pages 557-564 which were made available as a separate printing, so that they could be added if wished to copies of the voyage already published.
Provenance: First and second voyages, i.e. vols. 1 to 5: John Comyns of Wood, Bishopsteignton (armorial bookplates); third voyage, i.e. vols. 6-8: John Hunt of Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire (ink ownership inscription in vols 7 and 8).
Beddie, 648, 1217, 1553; Forbes, 'Hawaiian National Bibliography', 86; Hill, 782, 358, 361 (last two in different editions); Holmes, 5, 24, 47n; Kroepelien, 535; O'Reilly-Reitman, 390; Printing and the Mind of Man, 223.
Condition Report: Generally good and sound condition; occasional spots, a few instances of staining or embrowning in the volumes of the first voyage but none offensive. Plates in the atlas volume with original tissue guards (some staining from fixing points of guards above images); original marbled boards of the atlas scuffed and rubbed.
Price (AUD): $42,000.00
US$27,467.73 Other currencies