1786 – A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean – James Cook | Famous Exploration, Illustrated

James Cook was an 18th-century British explorer known for these three major world voyages. The third Pacific voyage, which began in 1776, took Cook and his crew around New Zealand and Hawaii. On this trip, Cook became well acquainted with the King of Hawaii, Kalani-opu’u. After spending time in the South Pacific, Cook also took his ship northward to the Aleutian Islands reaching to the Arctic Circle. Cook eventually died upon his return to Hawaii, after angering the King of Hawaii.

The events of this voyage became quite popular in the western world, much in part to the narrative that Cook himself wrote concerning the journey.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean: Undertaken by Command of His Majesty, for Making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere
• Author(s): James Cook
• Contributor(s): James King
• Publisher: London: Printed for J. Stockdale, Scratcherd and Whitaker, J. Fielding, and J. Hardy
• Edition: 1786-1788
• Format: (8vo), three-volumes
• Binding: Full leather
• Size:  8in x 5in (20 cm x 13 cm)
• Collation:
  • Vol II: xii, 359, [1] pp.,
  • Vol III: xii, 400 pp.,
  • Vol IV: xii, 310, [69] pp.,
• Illustrations: engraved plates, including maps, scenes of native life, animals, and significant voyage events
• Contents Include:
  • Narrative of the Third Voyage
  • Encounters with Kalaniʻōpuʻu, King of Hawaii
  • Observations in the Aleutian Islands and Arctic Circle
  • Illustrated account of Cook’s death in Hawaii
  • Cape of Good Hope voyage chapter
  • Notable Arctic wildlife including polar bears and sled dogs
  • Motto: “celer et vigilans”
• Reference(s): Sabin 16251; Howes C 729a; Evans 30274; Hill 362

Condition:

Good. All volumes retain their original full leather bindings with tight joints and secure text blocks. Spines show mild rubbing at edges. Some loss to prelims, including volume 2 title page.

Why Collect This?

• Scarce edition of one of the era’s most important Pacific voyage accounts
• Features eyewitness accounts of Cook’s death, walrus hunts, and early Arctic exploration

Item Number: #50661