papers surface

Yet more James Cook papers surface

Interest in Captain Cook and his remarkable exploits continues to surge all over the world and was due to reach one of its high points in London in July with the auction of the papers of the Fourth Earl of Sandwich who was Lord of the Admiralty at the time of the great navigator’s voyages. John Montagu, Lord Sandwich, quickly realised the greatness of Cook, and became his patron, for which the world may well be enormously grateful, for the bluff genius from Whitby was not a nobleman, and in those days might easily have been overlooked.

The papers offered at Sotheby’s sale were being sold

under the terms of the 1943 settlement of the Sandwich family estate. Historians have known of them for many years, but dealers have been express ing surprise at their arrival on the scene and interest in them is intense in Britain, the U.S., Australia and, particularly, in Hawaii, originally known as the Sandwich Islands, The last piece of ’’Cook abilia” to be sold was a map which went to the British Lib rary. A portrait of Captain Cook by John Webber was sold in Melbourne two years ago for more than half a million Austra lian dollars. A West Australian buyer beat out competition for that from the Canadian Na

tional Archive.

Yale University Press caught ’’Cook Fever” earlier this year and bought almost the entire print run of an Australian published book on Captain Cook’s artists. Three years ago the state government of Hawaii bought several of the drawings by Ellis, one of the young artists on a Cook voyage.

All manner of anecdotes and items of interest are expected to come out of the Sandwich papers sale.

For example, the two ships built for Cook’s second voyage, were not originally intended to be named Resolution and Adventure, but Raleigh and Drake. King George ll’s foreign affairs advisers told him the Spaniards would not like that ’’they hold in detestation these two names, and will be lieve we did it on purpose to insult them,” said the king, in a

letter, written at his behest by Lord Rochford to Lord Sand wich.

That letter was expected to bring about 2500 pounds ster ling, about one-fifth of the price expected for a letter by Cook himself to Lord Sandwich, writ ten from the Cape during his last voyage while waiting to be joined by Discovery, and giving news of Omai and of the animals on board intended for Tahiti. Omai was a native of Huahine in the Society Islands who had made a celebrated visit to England with Cook after the previous voyage.

Rare book and document dealers in London believe that this sale is likely to be the last at which significant papers relating to Captain Cook will come to light... the rest are either out of public hands in a variety of libraries and museums, or jealously held by collectors.