Description

Your chance to own the rarest variant of what is considered one of the most important books of the late eighteenth century. Text: 3 vols., quarto [11 3/16 x 9 inches]; Atlas: 1 vol., large folio [23 1/2 x 17 inches] Up front, a few negative points: The atlas has not been rebound as the 3 text volumes have - binding is in a fair to good state with shelf wear (see images). It is missing one plate (A View of Karakakooa, Owhyee) - and does not include the Death of Cook plate (as published). Now the Interesting: The text volumes meet all points being the "Medallion Issue A" from Forbe's Hawaiian National Bibliography (major points identified in the images). As described in the bibliography: “This issue of the Third Voyage text appears to be of very great rarity. It may in fact not have actually been for sale, but rather may have been a trial issue consisting of a few copies with the title leaves altered for inspection and approval by the Admiralty and others concerned with the publication prior to issuing of a second edition the same year as the first." The major points, shown in the images include: a date on the title page of 1784, medallions on the title pages which match the 1785 second edition, omission of four lines on the title page beginning “Illustrated with”, the catchword at the foot of the first contents page of volume 1 reads "for", and at the end of the same section is one erratum for an error on page 206. Another interesting point to note is the size of the pages and plates in the text volume. I am unsure if this is consistent with all Medallion Issue A copies, but you can see the difference when compared to a Medallion Issue B which I also posses (Image provided showing the same map twice). All in volume plates are full pages and do not fold, making the viewing of the plates far superior. It would seem that all of the volumes are maybe 1/4 inch larger than the other copy I own. Also from the Forbe’s bibliography about the importance of the official account of the third voyage: "arguably the single most important book on the Hawaiian Islands, this documents all aspects of Hawaiian culture at the point of discovery by Europeans. It is in fact one of the most important English books published in the last quarter of the eighteenth century." Overall Description : The books have been finely rebound in 1/2 leather with marbled boards and are in very good overall condition. Little to no foxing, extremely clean pages in the text values, although a limited number of the plates have slight press marks onto the opposite page (one image shows this condition). The atlas appears in original, lightly worn, marbled boards and leather spine, and would be closer to a Good minus condition, although the plates are clean with various very light foxing. I cannot find a single record of a sale of this version and believe any others are held by museums or institutions. If you are aware of any previous sale data I would welcome any insight. Shipping, Delivery, Etc. Accurate shipping price will be added to the winning price after close of the sale, due to the large and heavy packaging and the choice of the purchaser for insurance. Please feel free to ask any questions, seek additional photos, or any other information I may have missed.