A New, Authentic, and Complete Collection of Voyages Round the World, Undertaken and Performed by Royal Authority. Containing a New, Authentic, Entertaining, Instructive, Full and Complete History of Captain Cook's First, Second, Third and Last Voyages. The Whole of these Voyages of Capt. James Cook, &c. being Newly written by the Editors from the Authentic Journals of Several Principal Officers and other Gentlemen of the most Distinguished Naval and Philosophical Abilities, who sailed in the Various Ships. Assisted, Very Materially, by a Principal Officer who sailed in the Resolution Sloop, and by Many Other Gentlemen of the Royal Navy.

COOK, James - ANDERSON, George William (ed.).

Published by London: Alexander Hogg, [1784-86]

About this Item

First edition of this omnibus of Cook's voyages. Printed in double columns in "large new Types, constructed on Purpose to comprise much Matter in a little Compass" and issued in 80 sixpenny parts with avowedly philanthropic intentions, Hogg's popular edition helped disseminate knowledge of Cook's discoveries. "An important collection of English voyages. [which] sometimes gives the original accounts, others are edited or abridged versions, and frequently additional material from other sources are added to give scope and depth to the narratives" (Hill). The splendidly verbose title page notes the addition of the expeditions of Byron, Wallis, Carteret, Mulgrave, Anson, and Drake. The first three were included in Hawkesworth's edition of Cook's first voyage, while the accounts of Phipps, Anson, and Drake are reprinted from David Henry's An Historical Account of All the Voyages Round the World, Performed by English Navigators (1773-74). The book is often referred to as "Anderson's Cook", though George William Anderson is most likely a pseudonym calculated to evoke vague identification with William Anderson, the surgeon and naturalist who accompanied Cook on his second and third voyages. The publisher, Alexander Hogg, a specialist in "Paternoster Row numbers", had a penchant for tripartite pseudonyms. Provenance: with the ownership inscription of Captain Thomas Jellis, Northampton Fencibles, on the head of the first page of text, dated 1799. The Northampton Fencibles were raised in 1794. Jellis appears to have moved to America with his family in 1812, settling in Cartersville, Virginia. His grandson, Captain Thomas Jellis Kirkpatrick served in the Confederate Army and was appointed captain of the Amherst Artillery in July 1861, becoming a major in 1865, commanding the Nelson's Battalion. Beddie 18; Hill 18; Howgego I, C176; Spence p. 26; Parks Collection 104. Folio (376 x 246 mm). Engraved portrait frontispiece and 156 other plates, maps, and charts, including large folding map showing the track of Cook's voyages. Recent sprinkled half calf, marbled boards, to style, red morocco label, bands framed by reeded gilt rolls, foliate lozenge gilt in the compartments. Two additional engraved plates laid in, one of the Queen's Hotel, London, the other, hand-coloured, of a pair of shells. Prelims and endmatter professionally restored, a number of short closed marginal tears some with archival tissue repairs ("A General Chart" repaired and reinserted), occasional marginal loss ("Cook's Strait in New Zealand" with some loss of border and text), some foxing. A good copy.

Seller Inventory # 168453

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A New, Authentic, and Complete Collection of Voyages Round the World, Undertaken and Performed by Royal Authority. Containing a New, Authentic, Entertaining, Instructive, Full and Complete History of Captain Cook's First, Second, Third and Last Voyages. The Whole of these Voyages of Capt. James Cook, &c. being Newly written by the Editors from the Authentic Journals of Several Principal Officers and other Gentlemen of the most Distinguished Naval and Philosophical Abilities, who sailed in the ...
• Publisher: London: Alexander Hogg, [1784-86]
• Edition: 1st Edition