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PRINTS COOKS VOYAGES

1ST ENGLISH EDITION

Antique Print View of Island of Raiatea, French Polynesia by Cook (31816)
VIEW ITEM / MORE INFO
VIEW ITEM / MORE INFO
Artist : James Cook
Title : A view of the island of Ulietea, with a double canoe and a boathouse.... E. Rooker sculp. No. 3.....
Date : 1774
Size : 19in x 10 1/4in (480mm x 260mm)
Description :

This large finely engraved original antique print a view of twin hulled canoe and fishing scene on the Island of Raiatea in the French Polynesian group, south of Bora Bora was engraved by Edward Rooker - after Sydney Parkinson - drawn during Cooks 1st voyage of Discovery to the South Seas - was published in the 1773 1st English edition of Hawkesworth's Voyages. Please also note this orginal print is part of the 1st English edition and not part of subsequent French and European editions. (please read further below).
Background:
The first European to record sighting Ra'iātea was Pedro Fernandez de Quirós in 1606; it was charted as Fugitiva. The Polynesian navigator, Tupaia, who sailed with explorer James Cook, was born in Ra'iātea around 1725. Omai (c.1751-1780), another young man from Ra'iātea, travelled with European explorers to London in 1774 and also served as an interpreter to Captain Cook on his second and third journey.

John Hawkesworth. "An Account of the voyages undertaken by the order of His Present Majesty for making discoveries in the southern hemisphere, and successively performed by Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis, Captain Carteret and Captain Cook, in the Dolphin, the Swallow, and the Endeavour"..... London, 1773.
This official three-volume account of the first voyage was edited by John Hawkesworth, who had succeeded Dr. Samuel Johnson in 1744 as compiler of the parliamentary debates for the The Gentleman's Magazine. The first volume contains accounts of the voyages of Byron, Wallis, and Carteret. The second and third volumes are entirely concerned with Cook's voyage, based upon material drawn from journals kept by Cook and the papers of Joseph Banks.
As with the unofficial accounts published at the time of Cooks voyages, this work was immensely popular. Three separate three-volume editions were published in English in 1773 and four additional English printings appeared by 1789. German, Dutch, and French translations were also published beginning in 1774. In addition to the written account of the voyage, the two volumes related to Cook's voyage include 31 illustrations, charts, and maps.

Cook's First Voyage (1768-1771)
The first voyage under Captain James Cook's command was primarily of a scientific nature. The expedition on the Endeavour initially sailed to Tahiti to observe the transit of the planet Venus in order to calculate the earth's distance from the sun. Another purpose of the voyage was to explore the South Seas to determine if an inhabitable continent existed in the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. Upon leaving Tahiti, Cook named and charted the Society Islands and then continued southwest to New Zealand. His circumnavigation and exploration of that country also resulted in a detailed survey. Cook proceeded to Australia, where he charted the eastern coast for 2,000 miles, naming the area New South Wales. As a result of these surveys, both Australia and New Zealand were annexed by Great Britain.

Cook's Second Voyage (1772-1775)
Two ships were employed with Cook commanding the Resolution and Captain Tobias Furneaux in charge of the Adventure. The purpose was to circumnavigate the globe as far south as possible to confirm the location of a southern continent. Cook proved that there was no "Terra Australis," which supposedly was located between New Zealand and South America. Cook was convinced, however, that there was land beyond the southern ice fields. In his pursuit of this idea, this expedition was the first European voyage to cross the Antarctic Circle.

Cook's Third Voyage (1776-1779)
Cook's third voyage was organized to seek an efficient route from England to southern and eastern Asia that would not entail rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Cook, again in command of the Resolution, was to approach the Northwest Passage from the Pacific accompanied by a second ship, the Discovery, captained by Charles Clerke. The ships left England separately, regrouped at Cape Town, and continued on to Tasmania, New Zealand, and Tahiti. The expedition then sailed north and made landfall at Christmas Island and the Hawaiian Islands. Cook continued northward and charted the west coast of North America from Northern California as far as the Bering Strait. He returned to Hawaii for the winter and was killed in a skirmish with natives on February 14, 1779. (Ref Tooley M&B)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - 
Colors used: - 
General color appearance: - 
Paper size: - 19in x 10 1/4in (480mm x 260mm)
Plate size: - 19in x 9 1/2in (480mm x 240mm)
Margins: - 1/2in (12mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Light soiling in margins, small repair bottom margin corner
Plate area: - Folds as issued, light soiling & crease along folds
Verso: - Light soiling

If you wish to discuss this or any other item
please email or call...Simon

61 (0) 409 551910 Tel
simon@classicalimages.com

Condition : (A) Very Good Condition

Price :

Ref. No. :

US$650.00

31816

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