Home >
Captain James Cook in the South Pacific... Early balloon flights...
Captain James Cook in the South Pacific... Early balloon flights...
Item # 668660 THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE, London, September, 1784
* HMS Resolution - Royal Navy
* Captain James Cook
* Third Voyage - Gulf of Alaska
* Early ballooning flight - Montgolfier
There is a nice article: "On the General Post Office & Postage of Letters" with a chart of the various rates and small engravings of cancellations & free postage, franking notations.
There is a nice letter concerning early hot air balloon flight, which includes: "...A new set of words is wanting to express the wonderful discovery of Montgolfier. It is degrading to the aerial passengers to describe their gliding in the air by the terms of navigation; the flight of birds comes nearest to it..." with more.
There is 3 page continued article: "Captain Cook's last Voyage to the Pacific Ocean" which continues in a later issue.
Near the back is: "American News" which includes: "The rage of ballooning has reached the American coast & on the 17th of July one of an enormous size was launched at Philadelphia which rose majestically, but when at a certain height it took fire & was consumed to atoms..." with a bit more. This event is thought to be a myth.
Included is the nice & large foldout plate titled: "View of the New River, as Conveyed Through the Frame at Bush Hill". The other plate called for is present as well.
Complete in 80 pages, 5 by 8 1/4 inches, The title/contents page is present in photocopy, very nice condition.
AI notes: Captain James Cook’s third voyage (1776–1780) was primarily aimed at discovering the elusive Northwest Passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, though it also continued his tradition of scientific observation and mapping. Departing England in July 1776 aboard HMS Resolution with HMS Discovery in support, Cook revisited the Society Islands and New Zealand to resupply and refine coastal charts before heading north along the west coast of North America, exploring regions from California to Alaska and wintering at Nootka Sound while interacting with Indigenous peoples. In 1778, he became the first European to record the Hawaiian Islands, which he named the Sandwich Islands, and returned in 1779, where escalating tensions over thefts and cultural misunderstandings led to his death at Kealakekua Bay on February 14. Command of the expedition passed to Charles Clerke and later John Gore, who ultimately returned to England in 1780, having completed detailed mapping of the Pacific Northwest, ethnographic studies, and extensive geographic surveys, though the Northwest Passage remained undiscovered, leaving a legacy of exploration and scientific achievement.
This periodical was the first ever to use the word "magazine" in its title.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
Available Now
$52.00
