ID 381281
Lot 73 | Captain James Cook (1728-1779)
Estimate value
£ 4 000 – 6 000
First edition of Cook’s second voyage. After the success of his first voyage, the Admiralty sent Cook on a second expedition to investigate the globe as far south as possible. He made the first crossing of the Antarctic Circle, dispelled the myth of Terra Australis and surveyed his new discoveries: Palmerston Island, Niue, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. ‘This voyage produced a vast amount of information concerning the Pacific peoples and islands, proved the value of the chronometer as an aid to finding longitude, and improved techniques for preventing scurvy’ (Hill). Beddie 1216; Hill 358; Holmes 24; PMM 223; Sabin 16245.
2 volumes, quarto (282 x 220mm). Engraved frontispiece portrait, 63 engraved plates and charts, of which 31 double-page and 33 folding, folding letterpress table of vocabulary at end (tiny hole to 2U3 with loss of one letter, 'Chart of the Southern Hemisphere' with short marginal tear associated with a creasefold and some creasing along edges, a few plates cropped close, sometimes with loss of imprints, occasional minor scattered spotting and variable light browning). Contemporary diced russia, flat spines gilt, with distinctive spiral design in lower half (extremities lightly rubbed). Provenance: Francis Longe (1748-1812; of Spixworth Park, Norfolk, gilt crest at head of spines and armorial bookplates).
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |
---|---|---|
Preview |
| |
Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |
Frequently asked questions
First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.