COOK, CAPT. JAMES, AND CAPTAIN JAMES KING

A complete set of the official accounts of Cook's three voyages.

• Captain James Cook [John Hawkesworth] (English).
• James King (English).
• First editions of first two voyages. 51 maps and plates, plus the large folding of the Straights of Magellan from a copy of the second edition tipped in.
• Second edition of the third voyage with frontispiece portrait of Cook and 63 maps and plates.
• Third voyage: 87 maps and plates, including 24 charts and views from the text volumes and 2 large folding charts, all bound into atlas.
• London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell; W. and A. Strahan, 1773; 1777; 1785.
• 4to and folio atlas.
• Contemporary calf, uniformly rebacked to style.
• Atlas in matching modern half-calf.

"Captain Cook's three great voyages form the basis for any collection of Pacific books. In these three voyages, Cook did more to clarify the geographical knowledge of the southern hemisphere than all his predecessors together had done. He was the first really scientific navigator, and his voyages made great contributions to many fields of knowledge." (Hill) The set is also known for its outstanding illustrations of the peoples and customs and natural landscapes of the islands visited by the expeditions. 

The aim of Cook's first voyage was to sail to Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus; having done so, Cook left Tahiti and discovered the Society Islands, explored New Zealand at great length, as well as the eastern coast of Australia, which he charted for 2,000 miles and named New South Wales. The expedition lasted from 1768-1771 and resulted in the annexation of both Australia and New Zealand by Britain, and won Cook fame. Based on the success of this voyage, Cook was sent out on a second expedition, with the aim of circling the globe as far south as possible. On this voyage, which lasted 1772-1775, Cook disproved once and for all the existence of a long speculated southern continent between New Zealand and South America; discovered or rediscovered Easter Island, the Marquesas, Tahiti and the Society Islands, Niue, the Tonga Islands, the New Hebrides, and a number of other islands; and produced tremendous amounts of information about the Pacific Islands and peoples. The primary purpose of Cook's third voyage was to seek a northwest passage, and resulted in the charting of a significant area of the Northwest Coast of America. It also resulted in Cook's death, when he returned to Hawaii for the winter and was killed in a skirmish with islanders.

Hill 782; 358, cf. 361.