PARKINSON Sydney A Journal of a Voyage o the South Seas, in his Majesty’s Ship, The Endeavour.

Hill, 1308 ; Howgego, C-173 ; Sabin, 58787.

First edition, large paper copy, of this important account of Cook’s first voyage, based on the diary of Parkinson, who had been engaged by Sir Joseph Banks to serve as natural history draughtsman on board the Endeavour. Parkinson died of dysentery on the return voyage, and his account was transcribed and published by his brother Stanfield Parkinson, who was forced by injunction to delay publication until Hawkesworth’s official account appeared.

“Parkinson was engaged as natural history draughtsman by Sir Joseph Banks, to accompany him and Captain Cook in the Endeavour to the South Seas. Parkinson made numerous drawings of botanical and other subjects, including landscapes and portraits of native chiefs. After exploring Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef, the expedition reached Batavia … Banks spoke highly of his ‘unbounded industry’ in making for him a much larger collection of drawings than he anticipated. His observations, too, were valuable, and the vocabularies of South Sea languages given in his journal are of great interest” (Hill).

Of great ethnographic and linguistic importance, Parkinson’s Voyage contains vocabularies of the Otaheite, New Zealand, New Holland (including the name of the Kangaroo for the first time, p. 149), Savoo and Sumatra, as well as the Malayan language spoken in Batavia. The beautiful plates show members of the tribes encountered, their homes and a few objects. The iconography also includes a map of New Zealand (pl. 26).

A copy discreetly washed after restoration process of the binding.