Lot Essay
These views were originally published by Webber himself, without letterpress, between 1 August 1788 and 1 August 1792, etched and coloured by himself, and were reproduced in aquatint for Views in the South Seas in 1808. The 'View of Ulietea [Raiatea]' is one of this earlier series of etchings not included in the later publication.
For a discussion of the various editions of Webber's Views in the South Seas (1786-1820) see R. Joppien and B. Smith, The Art of Captain Cook's Voyages, New Haven and London, III, Text, pp.192-96: 'Several years later the firm of Boydell ... decided to bring out a new edition of the plates, a folio volume entitled Views in the South Seas, from Drawings made by the late James Webber, Draftsman on board the Resolution, Captain James Cooke from the year 1776-1780 ... There are ... two differences from the earlier Views: each plate is accompanied by an excerpt from the official account on the opposite page and the plates are aquatinted and hand-coloured.' Later watermarks on the sheets (up to 1820) indicate that Boydell's successor continued to publish the plates without changing the Boydell platemark.
For a discussion of the various editions of Webber's Views in the South Seas (1786-1820) see R. Joppien and B. Smith, The Art of Captain Cook's Voyages, New Haven and London, III, Text, pp.192-96: 'Several years later the firm of Boydell ... decided to bring out a new edition of the plates, a folio volume entitled Views in the South Seas, from Drawings made by the late James Webber, Draftsman on board the Resolution, Captain James Cooke from the year 1776-1780 ... There are ... two differences from the earlier Views: each plate is accompanied by an excerpt from the official account on the opposite page and the plates are aquatinted and hand-coloured.' Later watermarks on the sheets (up to 1820) indicate that Boydell's successor continued to publish the plates without changing the Boydell platemark.