COOK (Captain James)]. HAWKESWORTH (John). - Lot 123

COOK (Captain James)]. HAWKESWORTH (John). Relation des voyages entrepris par ordre de Sa Majesté Britannique, et successively executés par le Commodore Byron, le Capitaine Carteret, le Capitaine Wallis & le Capitaine Cook, dans les vaisseaux le Dauphin, le Swallow & l'Endeavour. James Cook's first voyage, preceded by the great British expeditions of Byron, Carteret, Wallis & Foster, which opened the Pacific to the world. Paris, Saillant et Nyon; Panckoucke, 1774. 8 volumes in 4 in-8 (203 x 135 mm). Bound in glazed and marbled fawn calf, triple fillet framing the boards, ribbed spine adorned with two mosaic pieces and boxes trimmed with gilt small irons. 4 pp.b.c., lxxx-327 pp. ; 4 pp.b.c., 347 pp. ; 4 pp.b.c., 447 pp. ; 4 pp.b.c., 462 pp. ; 4 pp.b.c., 374-[2 bl.] ; 4 pp.b.c., 312 pp; 4 pp.o.b.; 374 pp, [2 bl.], ; 4 pp.o.b., 312 pp; 4 pp.o.b., 336 pp; 4 pp.o.b., 336 pp. Slight wear, fragment missing from foot cap of vol. 3. Small drops at head of vol. 1. Title-pieces read "Voyage de Banks" [i.e. Joseph Banks participated in Cook's voyage]. First French edition of Captain James Cook's first voyage, preceded by accounts of other major British expeditions in the Pacific (1764-1771), written from logbooks by John Hawkesworth. Complete in 8 volumes: T. I: Relation du voyage de Byron (1764-1766) à bord du Dauphin. T. II: Relation du voyage de Carteret (1766-1769) à bord du Swallow. T. III: Relation du voyage de Wallis (1766-1768) à bord du Dauphin. T. IV-VIII: Relation du voyage de Cook (1769-1771) à bord de l'Endeavour. Cook's voyages were an essential source of information on the Pacific, which was still poorly known at the time. Cook precisely explored the coast of New Zealand, whose configuration he determined, surveyed the coast of Australia, explored the Pacific islands, discovered and named the Sandwich Islands, etc., before being killed in Hawaii (Owyhee) in 1779. Provenance: unidentified heraldic bookplate with motto "insignem attenuat deus". Very good condition.