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Description

Nice impression of the Dutch of edition of view depicting Captain James Cook's death at the hands of the native Hawaiians, drawn from an original painting by John Webber.

The present view of Cook's death reflects a benevolent and concerned Cook, attempting to stop his compatriots from firing on the native Hawaiians, while he is being stabbed in the back. This version, popularized by Webber's painting and Bartolozzi's engraving, is very different than other views of Cook's death, most notably the view painted by George Carter and subsequently engraved by Sayer & Bennett. In this edition, Cook is facing the native Hawaiians and using his rifle as a club.

While Webber was the official artist on Cook's third voyage, neither Webber nor George Carter were eye witnesses to Cook's death. Carter interviewed many eye witnesses to compile his engraving and it is quite possible that this Webber based passive view of Cook at the time of his death may not be the most accurate depiction (even though it is the official version), although the controversy over this topic will almost certainly never be resolved.

The Dutch edition is one of the scarcest editions on the market, this being only the second example we have offered between 1992 and 2010.

Condition Description
Repaired tear in upper left corner