Lot 12008: Parkinson - A New Zealand Warrior in his proper Dress, & compleately Armed, according to their Manner. 15

This print depicts a focused New Zealand warrior attired in native dress and arms.


This engraving is from Sydney Parkinson's A Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas in His Majesty’s Ship the Endeavour. It was an important account of Cook's first voyage. The work was published in London for Stanfield Parkinson in 1773.

Parkinson's drawings stand as one of the chief visual sources for the voyage: he produced a large number of magnificent botanical, natural history and ethnographical drawings of Tierra del Fuego, Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia. At the time, these drawings offered Europe its first view of life in the South Pacific.

"Parkinson has engaged by Sir Joseph Banks to accompany him and Captain Cook in the Endeavour to the South Seas, as natural history draughtsman... After exploring Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef, the expedition reached Batavia. On leaving for the Cape of Good Hope, Parkinson succumbed to fever and dysentery and was buried at sea. Banks spoke highly of his 'unbounded industry' in making for him a much larger collection of drawings than he had anticipated. His observations, too, were valuable, and the vocabularies of South Sea languages given in his journals are of great interest. Upon Banks' return to England, Stanfield Parkinson, Sydney's brother, claimed all the drawings made by his brother in his spare hours, as well as journals and collections, under a will made before Sydney Parkinson left England. Following the dispute, his writings were lent to Stanfield Parkinson, who transcribed them and prepared them for publication, but an injunction was obtained... to restrain him from publishing until after the appearance of ... Hawkesworths official account" (Hill).

~ 13 1/2" by 10 3/4"

Engraving

1773

The work is in good to very good condition overall. There is some light soiling of the paper. There may be some imperfections to expect with age. Please review the image carefully for condition and contact us with any questions.

A Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas in His Majesty’s Ship the Endeavour