Beschreibung:

COOK, Captain James] Second Voyage round the World in the years MDCCLXXII, LXXIII, LXXIV, LXXV. by James Cook Esq... drawn up from Authentic Papers . London: printed for the editor, sold by J. Almon and Fletcher and Hodson, Cambridge, 1776. 4° (305 x 230mm). 1p. errata. (Light spotting and staining, some leaves neatly strengthened at margins.) Original blue papered boards, uncut (rebacked in speckled brown paper, boards faded and worn). Modern cloth box. THE RARE ANONYMOUS ACCOUNT OF COOK'S SECOND VOYAGE preceeding Cook's official account and those of Forster's. The authorship of this account has long been in question. Beaglehole described this work as a 'palpable fake' and quoted Forster's opinion that it was done by a Cambridge student (hence a Cambridge publisher). The Monthly Review of October 1776 consulted Cook who gave a list of 15 incidents pronounced to be false. However there may well be a case to revisit the question of its authorship. It certainly appears to be written from the standpoint of an officer on board the Resolution. The three lieutenants on this ship were Cooper, Clarke and Pickersgill. The author (editor) of this journal was a man interested in music, (p.23) knowledgeable of various accounts of other great voyages, including Anson, Cartaret, Byron, Wallis and even Roggewen. Whilst it is likely some lengths were taken to disguise its authorship, such as using "we" rather than "I", it seems possible that the author may well be Richard Pickersgill the third lieutenant. On several occasions the 1st and 2nd lieutenants are described as going off in the pinnace (p.74) but scant detail is given, and on many occasions the term "we" is dropped and the entry becomes a personal narrative rather than a second-hand report, notably Thursday 13th August 1772 the lieutenant who was sent to invite the Portugese governor of the Cape Verde islands to dinner (p.11) or the description of the head of an indian (p.55), the theft of a bag in the society Islands (p.47). There is one curious passage towards the end of the account following the transfer of all the journals and papers relating to the voyage, to the Ceres indiaman at Table Bay to be taken back to the Admiralty. In this passage (p.99) the author exposes his veiled anger at officially published versions of voyages by the Admiralty and in particular the first Lord, the Earl of Sandwich, and his choice of Hawkesworth as official chronicler of Cook's first voyage. This passage is particularly interesting in the light of the controversy over Hawkesworth's account of the first voyage and the disputes over who should write the official account which raged after the return of the Endeavour in 1775. On his return in July Cook began preparing his account for publication, but an argument broke out between Dr. Forster who claimed it had been agreed he would write it. In early 1776 a collaborative venture was agreed but this arrangement had broken down by the summer of that year. Cook's 2-volume work appeared in 1777, six weeks after George Forster's own. Dr Forster published another work the following year; neither of the Forster works had official support. It seems possible that this unofficial account, may have been adapted from Pickersgill's notes and, despite its flaws, may have even gained the tacit support of Cook himself (variously described in this account as the captain, Captain Cook and the Commodore). Page 98 of this account notes Cook's own speech to the crew before the arrival at Good Hope, giving the Admiralty orders that all papers be found and sent forward. The journal notes 'all the journals and papers that could be found were put into a box, to be sent to the Admiralty office by the first opportunity that offered'. Both these events are described by Cook in his official account and such information would hardly be available to an uninformed party. It is plausible that this account was spared, however on its publication it was vilified, perhaps proscribed