COOK, James, Capt. (1728-1779) and Capt. James KING. A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, undertaken by the Command of His Majesty, for Making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere. To determine the Position and Extent of the West Side of North America; its Distance from Asia; and the Practicality of a Northern. London: W. and A. Strahan for G. Nicol and T. Cadell, 1784. 3 text volumes, 4to., (11 2/8 x 8 5/8 inches).Advertisement leaf at the end of volume III. 18 FINE engraved maps, including nine folding, 6 FINE engraved folding plates of views. Contemporary calf, each spine in six compartments with five raised bands, red and green morocco gilt lettering-pieces in the second and third (expertly rebacked preserving the original spines). Provenance: With the neat contemporary ownership inscription of John Howes of Grays Inn dated 1784 on the recto of the first blank in volumes II and III; the ownership inscription of Tho.s Howes on the recto of the first blank of volume III dated 1792; and with the engraved armorial bookplates of Edward Howes of Morningthorpe Manor (1813-1871), deputy lieutenant of Norfolk, on the front paste-down of each volume. THE OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF COOK'S LAST VOYAGE. First edition, AND AN ATTRACTIVE COPY of the cornerstone of any collection of Pacific voyages, published five years after Cook's tragic death in Hawaii, and published in 1784, to great acclaim. It was so popular that this the first edition sold out in just three days. Having been elected to the Royal society in March 1776 Cook came out of retirement to command a further expedition to the Pacific with the purpose 'that an attempt should be made to find out a Northern Passage by Sea from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean' (BL, Egerton MS 2177B). He was to take command of the "Resolution", the vessel he had captained for his second voyage of discovery, and accompany the newly purchased "Discovery" to be commanded by Charles Clerke. Cook and his Lieutenant James King were to act as astronomers on board the "Resolution", with William Bayly as the "Discovery"'s astronomer. John Webber was official artist aboard the "Resolution". The convoy sailed from Plymouth on 12 July 1776, crossed the Indian Ocean, to Adventure Bay in Van Diemen's Land, and Queen Charlotte Sound in New Zealand, then Tonga, and eventually the Society Islands. Cook then continued across the Pacific, and made his first major 'discovery' on this voyage when he sighted Oahu and Kauai, at the western end of the Hawaiian Islands on 18 January 1778. The north-west coast of North America was sighted on 7 March and the next six and a half month the convoy surveyed about 4000 miles of the American coast from Cape Blanco on the coast of Oregon to Icy Cape on the north coast of Alaska. Fatally Cook decided to winter in the Hawaiian Islands, which he had named after his patron the earl of Sandwich, and the convoy anchored in Kealakekua Bay on the island of Hawaii on 17 January 1779. At first Cook's return was welcomed with joy and celebration since he was considered by some Hawaiians to be the embodiment of their god Lono. Tragically the discovery of his mortality caused such rage and disappointment that on the morning of the 14th of February Cook and four of his marines were killed. Hill 361; Holmes 47; Lada-Mocarski 37; Mitchell Library Cook 1552; Sabin 16250.