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C1784
A Man of Prince William’s Sound.
Artist:
Rare engraving from the official British Admiralty sanctioned edition of the accounts of Cook’s third and final voyage. All other later copies made of this image by other publishers were unauthorised, usually smaller and inferior in quality. Having found Controller … Read Full Description
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Details
Full Title:
A Man of Prince William’s Sound.
Date:
C1784
Artist:
Condition:
In good condition.
Technique:
Copper engraving.
Image Size:
245mm
x 310mm
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1784
Description:
Rare engraving from the official British Admiralty sanctioned edition of the accounts of Cook’s third and final voyage. All other later copies made of this image by other publishers were unauthorised, usually smaller and inferior in quality.
Having found Controller Bay, Alaska which he had given the name Comptrollers Bay, Prince William Sound, Cook proceeded north and anchored at Snug Corner Cove repairing a leak 16-17 May 1778.
‘a fine bay or rather harbour…a very snug place. The land near the shoar is low, part clear and part wooded; the clear ground was covered two or three feet thich with Snow, but very little lay in the woods. ….The Men had Mittins made of the skins of bear paws, and high crowned conical straw caps… But I saw not a woman with a head dress of any kind, they had all long black hair a part of which was tied up in a bunch over the forehead. The men had beards though not large… and the women in some measure endeavoured to imitate them by tattowing or staining the chin.’ Cook Journals III, 1, 346
References: Beddie 1743-46, p.341, Joppien 3.237A, ill.p.474
From Cook & King, A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean Undertaken by the Command of His Majesty, for Making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere….
John Webber (1752 - 1793)
John Webber was an 18th century artist, best known for his work as the official artist on Captain James Cook's third and final voyage to the Pacific in 1776-1780. He was born in London, England in 1751 and was trained as an artist. Webber accompanied Cook on his voyage as the official artist, tasked with creating drawings and paintings of the places and people they encountered. He produced many illustrations and sketches that were used to make engravings for inclusion in the official account of the voyage, published after Cook's death. Webber was required to "give a more perfect idea thereof than can be formed by written description." Webber's illustrations and engravings of the Pacific islands and their inhabitants are considered some of the most accurate and detailed depictions of the region from that time. They provide an important record of the places and people encountered by Cook and his crew, and are valuable for understanding the culture and daily life of the people of the Pacific during the 18th century. He died in London in 1793, after having returned from the voyage, but his work continues to be recognised as an important historical record of the voyage and of the art of his time. Webber's oeuvre from the voyage was the most comprehensive record of sights in the Pacific region ever produced.
