COOK, Captain James (1728-1779) – [SECOND VOYAGE]. 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. London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1777.

First edition of Cook’s second voyage. After the success of his first voyage, the Admiralty sent Cook on a second expedition to investigate the globe as far south as possible. He made the first crossing of the Antarctic Circle, dispelled the myth of Terra Australis and surveyed his new discoveries: Palmerston Island, Niue, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. ‘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). Beddie 1216; Hill 358; Holmes 24; PMM 223; Sabin 16245.

2 volumes, quarto (282 x 220mm). Engraved frontispiece portrait, 63 engraved plates and charts, of which 31 double-page and 33 folding, folding letterpress table of vocabulary at end (tiny hole to 2U3 with loss of one letter, 'Chart of the Southern Hemisphere' with short marginal tear associated with a creasefold and some creasing along edges, a few plates cropped close, sometimes with loss of imprints, occasional minor scattered spotting and variable light browning). Contemporary diced russia, flat spines gilt, with distinctive spiral design in lower half (extremities lightly rubbed). Provenance: Francis Longe (1748-1812; of Spixworth Park, Norfolk, gilt crest at head of spines and armorial bookplates).

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The condition of lots can vary widely and the nature of the lots sold means that they are unlikely to be in a perfect condition. Lots are sold in the condition they are in at the time of sale.

The condition is this book is as described in the main cataloguing, and is overall in very good condition, with this copy being cleaner and fresher than most, and with less offsetting than is normally found:

The plates are as listed below, with their sequential plate numbering, followed by their number as it appears on the plate, with condition notes as appropriate:

1 I Chart of the Southern Hemisphere (short tear, but without loss, some creasing to edges, quite a clean copy without the usual heavy offsetting)
2 X Port praya
3 XXX Ice islands (faint marginal spotting, offsetting onto text leaf)
4 LI Spruce fir (small minor spot just on border)
5 LXIII Family in Dusky Bay (quite clean, offsetting to text leaf)
6 XIII Sketch of Dusky Bay
7 XXIII [plant] (faint offsetting)
8 LII Poe-Bird of New Zeeland
9 XXII [plant]
10 VIII Sketch of Van Dieman's Land
11 XXXVIII Otoo King of O-Taheite
12 XXIV [plant] (quite clean, offsetting to text leaf)
13 LVI Potatow
14 LVII Omai (Cropped close to imprint at bottom)
15 LIII The island of Otahiete bearing S.E. distant one league
16 XLIV A toupapow with a corpse on it
17 XIV Chart of the Friendly Isles
18 LIV The landing of Middleburgh one of the Friendly Isles (light, even browning, some offsetting to adjoining text leaf)
19 XLIV Otago
20 XXVIII Afia-Too-Ca, a burying place in the Isle of Amsterdam (offsetting to adjoining text leaf)
21 XVI A Draught Plan & Section of an Amsterdam Canoe
22 XXI [weapons and other artefacts]
23 XIX [carved shell and axes] (offsetting to adjoining text leaf)
24 IX Easter Island (faint spotting in top margin)
26 XLVI Man of Easter Island (Cropped into imprint at foot, lightly browned)
25 XXV Woman of Easter Island
27 XLIX Monuments in Easter Island (faint marginal browning)
28 V Sketch of the Marquesas
29 XXXIII Resolution Bay in the Marquesas (some faint browning, offsetting on adjacent text leaf)
30 XXXVII Woman of St Christina (cropped at right-hand into plate mark)
31 XXXVI The Chief at St Christina (plate cropped close to frame area)
32 XVII [headresses]
33 LXI The Fleet of Otaheite assembled at Oparee (some faint browning)
34 XV A Draught, Plan & Section of the Britannia Oteheite War Canoe (faintly soiling)
35 XLI Tynai-Mai
36 XXXV O-Hedide (faint marginal stain)
37 XIII 4 maps on one plate
38 XLIII A View in the Island of Rotterdam (faint offsetting onto adjacent text leaf)
39 XLII Boats of the Friendly Isles
40 III Chart of Discoveries made in the South Pacific Ocean (tiny tear at creasefold but without loss)
41 LX The Landing at Mallicolo, one of the New Hebrides
42 XLVII Man of the Island of Mallicolo (faint browning, cropped close to imprint at foot)
43 XI 3 maps on one plate (bound in tight at gutter obscuring printed border)
44 LXIII The Landing at Erramanga one of the New Hebrides (light offsetting onto adjacent text leaf)
45 LIX The Landing at Tanna one of the New Hebrides (faint marginal spotting)
46 XXIX View in the Island of Tanna
47 XXVI Man of the Island of Tanna
48 XLV Woman of the Island of Tanna (cropped at foot with loss of imprint)
49 XVIII [weapons and pipes]
50 L View in the Island of New Caledonia (faintly browned)
51 XXXIX Man of New Caledonia
52 XLVIII Woman of New Caledonia
53 XX [weapons]
54 XXXI View in the Island of Pines (faint offsetting onto adjacent text leaf)
55 VI Norfolk Isle
56 LV Man of New Zealand (cropped at foot with loss of imprint and bound tightly with associated loss of border)
57 LVIII Woman of New Zealand (cropped at foot with loss of imprint)
58 VII Christmas Sound
59 XXVII Man in Christmas Sound, Tierra del Fuego
60 XXXII Christmas Sound, Tierra del Fuego
61 II Chart of the Southern Extremity of America 1775 (tiny tear to creasefold but without loss)
62 IV Chart of the Discoveries made in the South Atlantic Ocean (short marginal tear without loss)
63 XXXIV Possession Bay in the Island of South Georgia (faintly browned and with some faint offsetting onto adjacent text leaf)

Print Report