Captain Cook | Voyages and Life, 1773-88, 11 volumes, contemporary red morocco, Beckford copy

Captain James Cook

A complete set of the voyages, comprising:

i. 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: Printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1773. FIRST EDITION, 3 volumes, 4to (290 x 224mm.), 52 engraved plates, charts and maps (most folding or double-page), one or two small marginal repairs, some spotting;

ii. James Cook. A Voyage towards the South Pole, and round the world.... London: printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1777. FIRST EDITION, 2 volumes, 4to (290 x 244mm.), engraved portrait frontispiece of Cook by J. Basire after W. Hodges, 63 engraved plates, charts and maps (most folding or double-page), offsetting from frontispiece onto title-page, some spotting, captions of a few plates shaved at outer margins (not affecting images); with atlas volume, large folio (546 x 409mm.), engraved portrait frontispiece, 38 further engraved plates (16 of which in 2 states, 4 in 3 states, one hand-coloured), lettered "Plates to Cook's Second Voyage" on spine; 

iii. James Cook and Captain James King. A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean... for making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere... the second edition. London: printed by H. Hughs, 1785. 3 volumes, 4to (290 x 224mm.), engraved frontispiece portraits and additional engraved portraits in volumes 1 and 3, 24 further engraved plates, charts and maps, some spotting; with atlas volume, large folio (546 x 405mm.), engraved frontispiece, 64 further engraved plates (40 of which in 2 states, 17 in 3 states, 1 in 4 states), some spotting, one plate with small repaired closed tear at margin;

iv. Andrew Kippis. The Life of Captain James Cook. London: G. Nicol, 1788. FIRST EDITION, 4to (298 x 234mm.), engraved portrait frontispiece, some spotting;

Together 11 volumes, uniformly bound in near-contemporary crimson straight-grained morocco by Kalthoeber with his ticket (in Kippis), gilt edges, marbled endpapers, extremities slightly rubbed

THE BECKFORD COPY. A MAGNIFICENT SET, DESCRIBED IN THE BECKFORD SALE CATALOGUE AS "PROBABLY THE FINEST COPY OF COOK'S VOYAGES EVER OFFERED FOR SALE, infinitely superior to the Roxburghe". The Atlas to the Second Voyage and Atlas to the Third Voyage include proofs of many of the plates, mostly in two or three states (lettered and unlettered, and a few unfinished). 

"Captain Cook's three great voyages form the basis for any collection of Pacific books. In three great 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).

Cook's first voyage included visits to Tahiti and New Zealand, and the tracing of the east coast of Australia was one of the most perilous feats of navigation in the whole recorded history of exploration. The second voyage pushed further south in search of a southern continent than any previous navigators, as well as visiting numerous Pacific islands. The third voyage returned to islands previously visited, discovered Hawaii, and explored the northwest coast of America from Alaska to Oregon. The text of these official reports form an invaluable record of the voyages, but they are enhanced enormously by the plates, maps, charts, and views which include the work of one of the most important cartographers of his day as well as images from the three most important artists to visit the Pacific during the eighteenth century.

LITERATURE

An Account of the Voyages: Beddie, BCJC (1970) 648; Hill (2004) 782; Sabin 30934; A Voyage towards the South Pole: Beddie, BCJC (1970) 1216; Hill (2004) 358; A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean: cf. Beddie, BCJC (1970) 1552; cf. Hill (2004) 361; Sabin 16250; The Life of Captain James Cook: Beddie, BCJC (1970) 32; Hill (2004) 935; Sabin 37954

PROVENANCE

Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, Sale of the Beckford Library, 7 July 1882, lot 2113; bought by Hopkins, £142