79 89 (COOK, James) HAWKESWORTH, John. An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere… London, 1773. Three volumes. Large quarto, contemporary three-quarter tan calf. $15,000 A Model “Followed By Explorers For Decades To Come”: Preferred Second Edition Of Hawkesworth’s Illustrated Account Of Cook’s Landmark First Voyage, 1773—Quite Scarce And Desirable Uncut In Contemporary Marbled Boards Second, preferred edition of the official account of Cook’s landmark first voyage, published the same year as the first, with 28 maps and charts (26 folding), including the large “Chart of the Streight of Magellan” not usually present in the first edition, and 24 copperengraved plates (13 folding). A superb uncut copy in contemporary marbled boards. Cook’s voyages of discovery stand among the greatest feats of exploration undertaken in any age. Although earlier explorers and navigators had traversed much of the world, their primitive methods of mapping meant that much of what they charted could not be found again, and the political climate of the 16th and 17th centuries often resulted in governmental suppression of their discoveries. On this, his first voyage, Cook sailed around Cape Horn and set course for Tahiti, where he observed the Transit of Venus. He next sailed south and west in search of a legendary southern continent which had been reported over a century earlier but had not since been visited. This land mass turned out to be New Zealand, which Cook rediscovered and charted. He then turned homeward, on his return discovering and charting the eastern coast of Australia. “Cook’s voyages, full-fledged scientific expeditions dedicated to ‘discovery’ in the broadest sense, established a model that would be followed by explorers for decades to come” (Withey, 10). Text and plates generally clean and fine. Expert restoration to spine ends. A superb copy.
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