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London: T. Becket and P.A. de Hondt, 1771. 4to (10.2?+ 9?). [2pp, title page and blank] + ii, with the dedication and separately printed note at the bottom of the page: ?Place this next the Title?] + 130pp + [4pp, 3 printed leaves of vocabulary and one blank]. Renewed period-style half calf using old leather, spine embellished with period authentic tooling, contrasting label. Boards with old marbled paper. Occasional and very minor toning to inner gutters. A large, clean, and handsome copy, with the suppressed leaf. Armonial bookplate of Lord Northwick. James Mario Matra (better known as James Magra) was born in New York to a prominent Corsican family who lost much of their wealth during the American Revolution. He was educated in England and later joined Capt. James Cook?s first voyage aboard HMS Endeavour as an able seaman during which Cook succeeded in exploring the South Pacific, Tahiti, New Zealand, and the east coast of Australia reaching Botany Bay in 1770. While on board the author got to know Sir Joseph Banks and formed a lifelong friendship with him. The author recounts a series of surreptitious actions following the arrival of one of Cook?s ships at the port of Rio de Janeiro. The local authorities issued various prohibitions out of ?unfavourable suspicion.? ?Mr. Banks however occasionally found means to evade, by employing a sailor to penetrate into the country by bribing the centinels, and there load himself with plants and shrubs, collected indiscriminately, and afterwards convey them on board.? While authorship remains a subject of debate, the consensus among Cook authorities, notably John Beaglehole and Alan Frost, identifies James Magra as the most probable candidate. The truthfulness of this primary narrative remains unchallenged, standing as one of the earliest "unofficial" chronicles of Cook's initial expedition. This anonymous journal reached the public within three months of HMS Endeavour's return, predating Hawkesworth's official history by two years. The dedication leaf, printed independently and addressed to the Admiralty, Sir Joseph Banks, and Dr. Daniel Solander, was an attempt to bestow an implied official sanction upon the work. However, the intended patrons swiftly issued a public disclaimer, leading to the immediate removal of the dedication in subsequent issues. Consequently, copies retaining the suppressed text are of significant rarity. The bookplate of Lord Northwick may be that of Sir John Rushout, 4th Baronet (1685?1775) of Northwick Park, Worcestershire ( Treasurer of the Navy between 1743 and 1744), or John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick (16 February 1770?20 January 1859), English peer, landowner and collector of art works.
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