Tahiti. Fleet of Otaheite assembled at Oparee. Cook's voyage, c1774.

by Cook, Captain James

Antique print. Tahitian War Canoes assembled at Pare, Tahiti.

Wonderful original copperplate engravings after the drawing by John Webber (1751-1793), the British Admiralty-appointed official artist on the voyage of Captain Cook. This engraving is one of 78 full page plates published with no fold, for John Hawkesworth’s Admiralty-approved Complete History of Captain Cook's First, Second and Third Voyages published in English in London circa 1780 by Alexander Hogg. Captain Cook (1728-1779)  made three separate voyages to the Pacific (with the ships Endeavour, Resolution, Adventure, and Discovery) and did more than any other voyager to explore the Pacific and Southern Ocean. James Cook not only encountered Pacific cultures for the first time, but also assembled the first large-scale collections of Pacific objects to be brought back to Europe.

Page size 235 x 380mm (9 1/4 x 15 inches). Unfortunately this page was close-cropped at the base to accommodate the size of the publication. There is also small damage to each of the four corners of the page. (Priced accordingly)