Bankes — Cook's New Holland, Plate 2 c.1790
Bankes — Cook's New Holland, Plate 2 c.1790
A late-18th-century Bankes edition engraving depicting a scene from Captain James Cook's first voyage along the eastern coast of "New Holland" — the European name for Australia. The plate derives from Sydney Parkinson and other voyage artists' drawings, engraved for the widely circulated Bankes edition of Cook's voyages (c.1790). A cornerstone piece for collectors of Australian history, Pacific exploration, or 18th-century travel literature.
Part of a pair: Available individually or as a matched pair.
About Captain James Cook (1728–1779) / Bankes edition
Captain James Cook's three voyages of exploration (1768–1771, 1772–1775, 1776–1779) fundamentally reshaped European understanding of the Pacific world. Cook charted the eastern coast of Australia, circumnavigated and mapped New Zealand, made the first European contact with the Hawaiian Islands, and definitively ruled out the existence of the great Southern Continent (Terra Australis) that had been hypothesized since antiquity. Cook was killed in Hawaii on his third voyage in 1779.
About the Work
Charts and views from Cook's voyages were published in multiple editions: the official Admiralty editions of 1773, 1777, and 1784; the widely circulated Bankes edition (c.1790) illustrated after Sydney Parkinson and other voyage artists; and numerous extracts and pirated editions. The 1777 Second Voyage charts are particularly prized for their accuracy and their role in establishing the modern cartographic image of the South Pacific.
Scarcity & Market Context
Complete sets of official Cook voyage charts are rare and command $15,000–$40,000+ when they appear at Sotheby's, Christie's, or specialist dealers like Helmink, Barry Lawrence Ruderman, or Daniel Crouch Rare Books. Individual charts from the Second and Third Voyages (Resolution, Friendly Islands, Dusky Bay, Nootka Sound) are particularly desirable. Bankes edition prints are more affordable but still scarce in matched pairs and complete sets.
Institutional Holdings
The National Maritime Museum (Greenwich), the National Library of Australia, the Alexander Turnbull Library (Wellington, NZ), the Library of Congress, and Yale's Beinecke Library all hold major Cook voyage archives.
Dimensions
Sheet approximately 9 × 7 inches
Frame: This piece ships unframed — the sheet or plate only. We can recommend framers in your area or ship to your preferred framer. Professional framing with archival materials typically runs $150–$400 depending on size and finish.
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These pieces are antique originals, ranging from approximately 100 to over 400 years old. Each piece will show varying degrees of age-appropriate condition: paper toning, foxing, edge wear, fold marks, minor restoration, light staining, and other natural signs of age are common and expected for works of this period. Condition varies from piece to piece.
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