November 17, 2020 Early Arms & Militaria: Age of Exploration, Empire & Revolution
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/17/2020
Each copperplate engraving is line or mixed method, by various engravers; all being fine and crisp impressions, each plate-mark ranging from 9-11" x 10-16", on folio sheets (approximately 14" x 19") with generous margins. From volume 3 of the first edition of “A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Undertaken, by the Command of his Majesty, for making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere to determine The Position and Extent of the West Side of North America; its Distance from Asia; and the Practicability of a Northern Passage to Europe . . . In Three Volumes” (London, 1784). The plate numbers and titles of the 13 superb views are as follows: 28. Various Articles of Nootka Sound; 31. A Sea Otter; Canoes of Oonalashka; 38. The Tschuktschi, and their Habitations; 40. The Inhabitants of Norton Sound, and their Habitations; 41. Caps of the Natives of Oonalashka; 42. Natives of Oonalashka, and their Habitations; 54. A Sledge of Kamtschatka; 55. A View of Bolcheretzkoi, in Kamtschatka; 56. A White [Polar] Bear; 58. A Man of Kamtschatka; 59. A Woman of Kamtschatka; [and] 61.The Inside of a Winter Habitation, in Kamtschatka.
John Webber (1751-1793) was born in London of Swiss descent. At the 1776 annual exhibition of the Royal Academy, he showed three works that attention of Dr. Daniel Solander and Sir Joseph Banks, both of whom sailed with Captain James Cook on his first Pacific voyage of exploration and were looking for a suitable artist to accompany Cook on what would be Cook’s third and final voyage. On their recommendation, Webber was appointed official artist to the expedition, which commenced on 12 July 1776. Upon his return to London in 1780, Webber submitted about 200 finished works to the Admiralty which he had made on the voyage. From autumn 1780 until summer 1784, he re-drew many of the drawings and supervised the engravers and printers who were preparing the images for publication, under the direction of Lord Sandwich. CONDITION: Clean and bright, with good platemarks and fine impressions; some very minor marginal tears (less than 1/2"), chips, toning along the extreme edges of some sheets. JLK