Captain Cook's Voyages Round The World
With An Introductory Life
By M.B. Synge
Published by Thomas Nelson And Sons: London 1903 1st Edition
In Original Cloth Bindings - 25 Of 27 Illustrations/Plates Present As Called For.
"Captain Cook's Voyages Round the World, with an introductory life by M. B. Synge, was published by Thomas Nelson and Sons, London, Edinburgh and New York in 1903. This substantial illustrated volume opens with an account of Captain James Cook's life (1728-1779) before presenting the narratives of his three great Pacific voyages. Importantly, the preface states that the voyages are taken directly from the folio volumes of Cook's own journals and only slightly abridged, with the account of the first voyage aboard H.M. Bark Endeavour, 1768-71, drawn from the literal transcription of Cook's original manuscript edited by Captain W. J. L. Wharton.
Cook's First Voyage follows the Endeavour from England through Madeira and Rio de Janeiro into the Pacific, encompassing Tahiti, New Zealand and the celebrated exploration of the eastern coast of Australia. The succeeding voyages greatly expanded European geographical knowledge of the Pacific and Southern oceans, taking Cook and his crews through an extraordinary range of islands, coastlines and communities. The narrative ultimately reaches the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) and Cook's death there in 1779, providing in a single volume a highly readable period presentation of the complete arc of his extraordinary career of exploration.
A particularly appealing feature of this 1903 edition is its extensive pictorial content, illustrating the peoples, vessels, landscapes and places encountered during Cook's voyages. Among the surviving illustrations are striking scenes of a native house at Otaheite (Tahiti), a New Zealander and Māori war canoe, Table Bay at the Cape of Good Hope, and the particularly attractive full-page scene of surf-swimming in the Sandwich Islands. The volume also retains its portrait frontispiece of Cook with facsimile signature. Of the 27 illustrations and plates called for, 25 are present, making this a substantially complete example while noting the absence of two illustrations (240 & 254).
Published more than a century after Cook's death, this handsome Edwardian edition remains an attractive historical account of the voyages that profoundly shaped European knowledge of Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia and the wider Pacific. It is especially suitable for collections devoted to Captain Cook, Australian exploration, maritime history and Pacific voyages, combining Cook-derived journal narratives with Synge's introductory biography and a generous suite of period illustrations. This 1903 First Edition remains in its original dark blue cloth binding with gilt spine titles, with 25 of the 27 called-for illustrations/plates present, a substantial and visually impressive early twentieth-century Cook volume."
Light wear to covers and spine with minor bends in the covers as shown. Inner hinges split however covers are firm and structural integrity of book is very good. Of 27 plates called for, 24 + frontis (25) are present with the booking appearing to lack plates 240 & 254. Pages are clean with pleasant age toning only. A beautiful copy of an important and highly desirable book in good condition overall. Please study photos to further understand condition.
