Heading:
Author: Cook, James and James King
Title: A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Undertaken, by the Command of His Majesty, for Making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere. Performed under the Direction of Captains Cook, Clerke, and Gore, in His Majesty's Ships the Resolution and Discovery; in the Years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780
Place Published: London
Publisher:G. Nicol
Date Published: 1785
Description:
Three quarto text volumes plus folio atlas volume. [10], xcvi, 421; [14], 548; [14], 556 pp. 87 maps and plates (some folding), with 61 plates and 2 maps in atlas volume and the remainder bound in the text volumes. Text volumes 29.2x23 cm (12x9 ¼"), calf-backed marbled boards; Atlas volume 56.3x41 cm (21½x16"), matching three-quarter brown calf and marbled boards. Second Edition.

A very handsome set of the second and "generally preferred" edition. Cook's fateful third voyage, a search for the Northwest Passage, during which he was clubbed and stabbed to death by the once friendly natives of Hawaii; the first two volumes were the work of Cook himself, the third being completed by Captain James King. The superb copper-engravings by John Webber include portraits of Pacific islanders, coastal scenes of northwest America and its native residents, charts, coastal profiles, various artifacts, etc.; there are two large charts, of the world, and of Alaska, Kamtchatka, the Bering Straight, etc. The publication of the official account was much delayed, and, according to Holmes, "it was so eagerly awaited by the public that it was sold out on the third day after publication." This second edition has the same collation and plates as the first edition of the preceding year. The plate of the Death of Cook, which was not included in the original issue of the atlas and is not called for in the list of plates (but sometimes shows up in second edition atlases), is not present in this copy. Holmes 47; Howes C729a; Lada-Mocarski 37.

Some scratches and minor wear to covers; text volumes are generally very clean and in crisp condition, some occasional spotting and foxing, a few minor paper flaws and offsetting; the atlas preserves the original tissue guards, some plates have evidence of foxing, mostly in the margins, some small tears, chips and stains, but most plates are in very good condition.