Prints

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J. Webber fecit 1788.   Vide Cooks last voyage Vol. 3 Chap. 11.   London. Publd. April 1 1809 by Boydell & Compy. No. 90 Cheapside.

On Whatman paper with watermark J.Whatman 1819.

Landscape with cliffs and boulders to left, among trees, with a man and a little boy to left, walking on the brick pathway fronting the sea, men in a boat to right, a small covered structure on a height in the background and figures on the quay sloping to the sea, on which are erected two banners, beyond to right. 1788

John Webber was the official artist on Cook's final voyage through the Pacific; his drawings formed the basis for printed illustrations to the account of the voyage 'A Voyage to the Pacific', published in 1784, engraved by various artists. He also published his own prints of drawings he made on the voyages privately, in 1788. Several of the plates were re-published by J Boydell in 1808. For more information, including details on the publication of Cook's Voyages, see: Joppien, Rüdiger and Smith, Bernard 'The Art of Captain Cook's Voyages', 3 Vols. (Yale UP 1988). For information on the set republished by Boydell, see also Abbey 595.

This scarce aquatint was probably printed in 1819 after a drawing by John Webber of 1788.

Condition

There is a small 2 inch tear in the upper right hand corner.

Reference

Abbey, Travel 595 - page 539 no.13.

P5304.  Chater VII.4.2