Cook, Captain James--Shaw, Alexander

Estimate

70,000 - 100,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

A Catalogue of the Different Specimens of Cloth collected in the Three Voyages of Captain Cook, to the Southern Hemisphere; with a Particular Account of the Manner of the Manufacturing the same in the various Islands of the South Seas; partly extracted from Mr. Anderson and Reinhold Forster's Observations, and the verbal account of some of the most knowing of the Navigators: with some anecdotes that happened to them among the natives. London: Alexander Shaw, 1787
paper and cloth

4to (225 x 161mm.), 8pp., 56 original specimens of Tapa cloth [39 called for] on 28 leaves (including 9 full-page specimens), the blank leaves watermarked with the date 1805, contemporary sheep-backed marbled boards, flat spine with gilt bands

Provenance

sale in these rooms, 13 July 1976, lot 268

Literature

Beddie 3640; Forbes 139; Holmes 67; cf. BCJC 3640; not in Hill

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

RARE. The text describes and calls for 39 pieces of cloth, collected from Tongatabu, Tahiti, the Hawaiian islands and one from Jamaica. However, each copy is a more or less unique assemblage; Beddie notes that the specimens differ in each copy and Holmes states that the final specimen is frequently missing. Captain James King (1750-1795) was the person responsible for collecting some if not all the tapa cloth contained in this work whilst travelling with Cook on his voyages. King also completed the official account of Cook’s third voyage, published his own astronomical observations and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Maryanne Larkin’s ‘Tales and Textiles from Cook's Pacific Voyages’ in Bulletin of the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand 28.4 (2004) pp.20-33, suggests that there are three issues of this book, with the last version possibly published around 1806, which would explain the 1805 watermarks on the blank leaves in this copy, however she states "there is no reason to doubt their provenance in Cook's voyages". The letterpress with the title dated 1787 is the original text and has not been re-set and is on the same blue tinted laid paper, with no visible watermarks. There are several other known copies with early nineteenth-century watermarks on the blank interleaves, including: 1. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library: containing 56 specimens of tapa cloth bound in leather-backed marbled boards, the blank leaves watermarked with a fleur-de-lys and the date 1804 [GN662 CAT Reserve] and 2. National Library of Scotland: containing 44 specimens of tapa cloth bound in half leather; the specimens mounted on blank leaves watermarked 1803.