Loutre de Mer (1785)

Description

First French edition Copper engraved plate showing a Sea Otter.

Source publication: James Cook Troisieme Voyage de Cook, ou Voyage a l'Ocean Pacifique, Ordonne par le Roi d'Angleterre, pour Faire des Decouvertes dans l'Hémisphère Nord, pour déterminer la position & l'étendue de la Cote Ouest de l'Amérique Septentrionale, da distance de l'Asie, & résoudre la question du passage au Nord, translater as: James Cook: Third Cook travel, or travel to the Pacific Ocean, Ordered by the King of England, for Making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere, to Determine the Location & Extent of the West Coast of North America, the Distance of Asia, and the Transition to the North.

The mapmaker James Cook (1728-1779) is a seminal figure in the history of cartography. In 1766, Cook was commissioned to explore the Pacific and given a Captaincy with command of the Endeavour. Three voyages of discovery followed, the highlights of which include the first European contact with Eastern Australia, the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands (and many other Polynesian Islands), the first circumnavigation of New Zealand, some of the first sightings of Antarctica, the first mapping of the Pacific Northwest, and his death at the hands of the Hawaiians in 1779.