Captain James Cook (1728-1779) is best known for his three voyages to the Pacific (1768-71; 1772-75; and 1776-79). His discoveries radically changed the western understanding of the world in the late 18th century. He was the first to circumnavigate and chart New Zealand and provided the earliest European accounts of exploration along the eastern coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands. On February 14th, 1779, he was killed on Hawaii after attempting to kidnap the chief of the island.

Many contemporary accounts of Cook’s voyages, including charts and engravings, appeared in the late 18th century. The first official account of Cook’s first voyage was published in 1773 by John Hawkesworth in Volumes II and III of An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere... William Strahan and Thomas Cadell published the first official accounts of the second and third voyages in 1777 and 1784. Accounts of his exploration were subsequently translated into French, German, and Dutch.

This view was captured by Sydney Parkinson, an artist who sailed with Captain James Cook on his first voyage. Parkinson and fellow artist Alexander Buchan were employed by naturalist Joseph Banks to document the sights and discoveries of new plants, animals, and indigenous people during Cook's voyage. Although Parkinson's specialty was botanicals, he was asked to draw fauna, flora, portraits, and landscapes after Buchan (a topographical draughtsman) died in Tahiti. Parkinson made over 1300 drawings and sketches during the voyage before dying of dysentery in January 1771. Parkinson is credited as the first to draw an authentic Australian landscape and the first to portray aboriginals based on direct observation.

This view depicts Cook's ship, the Endeavour, careened for repairs on the shore of the Endeavour River on the coast of Queensland. On June 11, 1770, the Endeavour struck a reef within the Great Barrier Reef system, causing a hole in the hull of the ship. Cook and his crew spent several weeks on the shore of the Endeavour River making repairs before heading north to Batavia. Engraved by Pierre Jacques Duret. This view was first published in the English edition of Account of the voyages undertaken by the order of His present Majesty for making discoveries in the southern hemisphere by John Hawkesworth in 1773, which was republished in French the following year.

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Condition: B+

A crisp impression, issued folding, with light toning along one fold and minor scattered foxing at top left.