The three voyages of Captain James Cook by HAWKESWORTH, John (1715-1773); COOK, James (1728-1779); KING, James

1. An account of the voyages undertaken by the order of his present Majesty for making discoveries in the southern hemisphere, and successively performed by Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis, Captain Carteret, and Captain Cook, in the Dolphin, the Swallow, and the Endeavour: drawn up from the journals which were kept by the several commanders, and from the papers of Joseph Banks, Esq; by John Hawkesworth, Ll.D. in three volumes. Illustrated with cuts, and a great variety of charts and maps relative to countries now first discovered, or hitherto but imperfectly known. London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1773. First edition. Three volumes, quarto, late nineteenth century quarter straight-grained Morocco over papered boards by Morrell, his binder's stamp to first leaf, spines in compartments lettered in gilt with gilt lines, unusual gilt-tooled corner pieces to the upper and lower boards, a few scuffs and pale foxing to the boards, top edge gilt, others uncut, vol. I pp. [xii]; xxxvi; 676 (the numbering skips from 139 - 360 as per Beddie); vol. II pp. xv; [i]; 410, vol. III pp. [vi]; 411 - 799, without the [4] pp.""Directions for placing the cuts..."" leaf (as commonly found in early issues); 51 engraved plates, maps and charts (41 folding, one backed on linen), occasional toning and offsetting, with the large folding map of the Straits of Magellan, not always present. ""The first voyage under Captain Cook's command on the Endeavour was primarily of a scientific nature. The expedition was to sail to Tahiti in order to observe the transit of Venus across the disk of the sun, to determine the earth's distance from the sun, and also to carry on the geographical discovery that John Byron had started. Entering the Pacific around Cape Horn, Cook reached Tahiti in 1769 and carried out the necessary astronomical observations.Leaving Tahiti in July, Cook discovered, named, and charted the Society Islands, and then, heading southwest, explored New Zealand, then headed towards Australia and discovered and charted the eastern coast for 2,000 miles, naming the area New South Wales. Both Australia and New Zealand were annexed by Britain as a result of this voyage which began in 1768 and ended in 1771."" (Hill). Beddie 648; Hill (2004) 782; Holmes 5 2. A voyage towards the South Pole, and round the world. Performed in His Majesty's ships the Resolution and Adventure, in the years 1772, 1773, 1774, and 1775. Written by James Cook, Commander of the Resolution. In which is included Captain Furneaux's narrative of his proceedings in the Adventure during the separation of the ships. In two volumes. Illustrated with maps and charts, and a variety of portraits of persons and views places drawn during the Voyage by Mr. Hodges and engraved by the most eminent Masters. London : W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1777. First edition. Two volumes, quarto, late nineteenth century quarter straight-grained Morocco over papered boards by Morrell, his binder's stamp to first leaf, spines in compartments lettered in gilt with gilt lines, unusual gilt-tooled corner pieces to the upper and lower boards, a few scuffs and pale foxing to the boards, top edge gilt, others uncut, vol. 1 pp. xl; 378; vol. II pp. [viii]; 396; 64 engraved maps, plates and charts, some folding (a few with expert relining on linen or paper with mended tears). Beddie 1216; Hill (2004) 358; Holmes 24 The voyage where 'Cook proved there was no ""Terra Australis"" which supposedly lay between New Zealand and South America ... [and] the first to cross the Antarctic Circle ... This voyage produced a vast amount of information concerning the Pacific peoples and islands, proved the value of the chronometer as an aid in finding longitude, and improved techniques for preserving scurvy, in addition to the aforementioned discoveries."" (Hill). 3. A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Undertaken, by the command of His Majesty, for making discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere ... Performed under the direction of Captains Cook, Clerke, and Gore, in his majesty’s ships the Resolution and Discovery; in the years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780. London : Printed by W. and A. Strahan for G. Nicol, 1784. First edition. Three volumes, quarto and atlas folio, late nineteenth century quarter straight-grained Morocco over papered boards by Morrell, his binder's stamp to first leaf, spines in compartments lettered in gilt with gilt lines, unusual gilt-tooled corner pieces to the upper and lower boards, a few scuffs and pale foxing to the boards, scuff with loss to the upper board of the third volume, top edge gilt, others uncut, vol. I pp. [viii]; xcvi; 421; [blank]; vol. II pp. [xii]; 549; [blank]; vol. iii pp. [xi]; [blank]; 558, 24 engraved maps and charts (thirteen folding); the atlas folio with 61 plates and 2 folding charts (one plate with a repaired tear), occasional foxing and marks. The official account of Cook's third voyage, including his death on the islands of Hawaii, the discovery 'Cook judged his most valuable discovery' - Hill. 'One of the most important English books published in the last quarter of the eighteenth century.' (Forbes). Beddie 1543; Hill (2004) 361; Holmes 47 A magnificent set of the official account of Cook's voyages, finely illustrated with maps and plates. Finely bound by the venerable London firm of Morell in the late nineteenth century, this exceptional collection of the complete set of voyages of Cook is distinguished by its full, wide margins and rich, dark impressions.   Provenance: E. Joseph, Bookseller, London Private collection, Melbourne, acquired from the above in 1963 (letter enclosed) acquired from the above