Three charts on the one sheet.
From the official British Admiralty sanctioned account of Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook’s voyage to the Pacific Ocean. There are other later copies made of this chart by other publishers which are smaller and sometimes inferior in quality. The British Admiralty was magnanimous in allowing other nations to reproduce the contents providing that they were smaller than the originals.
From Hawkesworth, An Account of the Voyages undertaken by the order of His Present Majesty for making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere…,Cook's so-called First Voyage.
Cook was chosen to lead an expedition to the South Seas to observe the transit of Venus, in preference to the Royal Society’s recommendation of Alexander Dalrymple. The Admiralty wisely chose Cook and promoted him from master to lieutenant and gave him command of the HMS Endeavour, a 368 tons converted collier. He sailed from Plymouth on 26 August 1768 with a complement of ninety-four, including Joseph Banks. They reached Tahiti on 13 April 1769 and made their observations and charted the islands.
Cook had also been given secret instructions just prior to his departure, to determine the existence of a southern continent which instructed him to sail to the portion of the north-west coast of the south island of New Zealand that had been discovered by Abel Tasman in December 1742. In August 1769, he charted the islands of New Zealand.  Cook visited Tolaga Bay 22-30 October 1769 and replenished the ships water and fire wood. Sailing north, Cook found a large bay whose shores were lined with lush cultivated areas, and which he named the Bay of Plenty. Anchoring on the west side of the Bay, Cook and the astronomer on the voyage, Charles Green, went ashore to observe the transit of Mercury across the Sun and Cook named the spot, Mercury Bay, 3 – 15 November 1769.Cook then entered the Firth of Thames on 20 November, 1769 and explored the area until 25th.From Firth of Thames, Cook sailed to the Bay of Islands 30th November, 1769 and explored until 6 December.
James Cook (1728–1779) 
Cook was the most important navigator of the Age of Enlightenment, a period that saw the mystery of the Southland resolved, the discovery of New Zealand, Hawaii, numerous Pacific Islands and confirmation that a Northwest Passage did not exist. He commanded three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, the third voyage leading to his death on the island of Hawaii on 14 February 1779.
1773.
Copperplate engraving.
Later hand colouring.
300 x 450 mm. (Plateline).
Good condition.