A COMPLETE SET OF FIRST EDITIONS OF THE OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS OF COOK'S THREE VOYAGES. COOK, JAMES. ...

A COMPLETE SET OF FIRST EDITIONS OF THE OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS OF COOK'S THREE VOYAGES. COOK, JAMES. 1728-1779. Cook's Voyages. 9 volumes (8 text and 1 atlas). 4to (290 x 225 mm) and folio (560 x 407 mm). 1. [FIRST VOYAGE.] HAWKESWORTH, JOHN. An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere. London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1773. 3 volumes. 51 engraved charts, views and other engravings (of 52 as in early issues without the 'Straights of Magellan' plate), mostly folding and some very large, additional portrait frontispiece supplied from another work and laid down to a blank leaf before title page. Some browning to upper margin of title page, light spotting and toning throughout, offset from plates, one plate loose. FIRST EDITION, early issue. Provenance: 'Mount Garrett' (inscriptions on titles). 2. [SECOND VOYAGE.] COOK, JAMES. A Voyage Towards the South Pole, and Round the World. London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1777. 2 volumes. 64 engraved plates, maps and charts, many folding or double-page, including frontispiece author portrait; folding letterpress table. Scattered toning, some light dampstaining, spotting & offsetting. FIRST EDITION. 3. [THIRD VOYAGE.] COOK, JAMES, and JAMES KING. A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Undertaken, by the Command of His Majesty, for Making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere. London: W. and A. Strahan, for G. Nicol ... and T. Cadell, 1784. 3 text volumes plus atlas. Text volumes with 24 engraved charts and plates (many folding). Atlas with 2 large folding charts and 61 engraved plates, as issued without the 'Death of Cook' plate found in some copies. Some browning and offset to plates. FIRST EDITION. Uniformly bound in 19th century half calf and marbled boards, spines with 5 raised bands, morocco lettering pieces. Covers rubbed, margins trimmed, in some cases into plate marks. A COMPLETE SET OF FIRST EDITIONS OF THE OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS OF COOK'S THREE VOYAGES.. It is virtually impossible to overstate the importance of these voyages, or to summarize them. 'Cook did more to clarify the geographical knowledge of the southern hemisphere than all his predecessors together had done' (Hill 358). The original purpose of Cook's renowned first voyage was simply to observe the transit of Venus. This was accomplished at Tahiti, but six months were then spent on the coast of New Zealand, which was circumnavigated and charted for the first time, as was the east coast of Australia. Cook named New South Wales and naturalists on his expedition named Botany Bay. The second voyage disproved the myth of the existence of a further southern continent and made the first crossing of the Antarctic Circle. Numerous further explorations were undertaken, and discoveries made including the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, and South Georgia. Knowledge of the South Pacific was given a firm basis for the first time and the maps made then remain valid today. The final voyage was directed principally towards the search for a Northwest Passage from the Pacific, culminating in Cook's death in the Hawaiian Islands. Hill 783, 358, 361; Holmes 5, 24, 47; PMM 223; Mitchell Library Cook 648, 1216, 1543; Sabin 30934, 16245, 16250. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing