Troisieme Voyage Abrégé du Capitaine Cook, dans L’Océan Pacifique; Avec une Carte générale et l’Estampe représentant la mort de ce Capitaine. Ou Histoire des Derinieres Découvertes dans la Mer du Sud, Pendant les années 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, & 1780. A Paris: Hôtel de Thou, 1785.
A very rare abridged (pirate) French edition taken from Demeuiner’s translation of the same year (the first French edition), very nicely bound in full contemporary calf with a foldout plate showing the death of Captain Cook in the first volume. We could trace only a single sales record of this set at Christie's. It is substantially rarer than the Moutard edition.
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A similar set of this edition sold at Christie’s 9th February 2013 lot 15, realising $2,760 (USD).
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Size: 130 x 192 mm (approx., each)
Condition:
[h.t., foldout plate, t.p., i-viii, 519pp]; [h.t., t.p., 591pp]; [h.t., t.p., 477pp, i]
Uniform contemporary full calf bindings. Spines with raised bands delineating compartments lined in gilt. Tooled morocco labels all present to each spine. A very attractive set on the shelf. Minor rubbing to bindings with a little loss at the head of the second volume’s backstrip. A little rubbing along the joints but with all boards securely attached, the bindings secure, and without shelf lean. Shelf and edge wear with commensurate losses at corners. Page edges with contemporary red speckled design. Without any attached bookplates throughout but with a very light and mostly illegible pencil ownership inscription to the head of the front pastedown in volume one. Half title and first blank folded in volume one to give room for the foldout plate. Very clean internally throughout, indeed internally excellent. Some minor foxing and toning to pastedowns in volumes two and three else internally fine. Collated as textually complete but lacks one foldout chart, else complete with the single foldout plate in volume one.
An excellent set.
[Mitchell Family Cook 1558].
