"[Lot of 2] A View of Karakakooa, in Owyhee [and] A Canoe of the Sandwich Islands, the Rowers Masked", Cook, James (Capt.)

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 uncommon pair of engravings depict the earliest views of Hawaii from Cook's third and final voyage. Cook explored Hawaii before heading north to explore the Pacific coast, where they tracked past the Bering Strait before being turned back by ice. The expedition then sailed south to Hawaii, where Cook was killed in a dispute with the natives at Karakakooa Bay on February 14th, 1779. Clerke, his second-in-command, took over the expedition and they surveyed further in Hawaii before returning north to continue the exploration for the Northwest Passage.

1) A View of Karakakooa, in Owyhee is a spectacular view of the bay where Cook met his end, showing his ships and the boats of the native Hawaiians as well as their village, and an early surfer. From the drawing by John Webber, engraved by William Byrne (20 x 9").
2) A Canoe of the Sandwich Islands, the Rowers Masked features the native Hawaiians wearing gourd and feather headdresses, with great detail of the outrigger canoe. From the drawing by John Webber, engraved by C. Grignion. (14.8 x 8.7").

References: Nordyke, Views from Captain Cook's Third Voyage, pp. 124, 131.

Condition: A

Both with exceptional impressions on strong paper. View 1 with a little faint foxing, mostly confined to the margins. The margins are slightly deckled. View 2 is clean and bright with slightly trimmed margins and discoloration at the top margin, well away from the view. Both with hinge remnants on verso.