Copper engraving by Francesco Bartolozzi & William Byrne from the painting by John Webber. Image 42.5x58 cm. (17¼x22¾") on sheet 48x60 cm. with title, dedication and artists' credits in lower margin. In large Koa wood custom frame, double linen mats, gilt and wood inner frames; overall 37¼x42".

Famed engraving by master craftsman Francesco Bartolozzi of John Webber's immortal depiction of the death of James Cook at the hands of Hawaiian natives on his third Pacific voyage. Undoubtedly the best known of Webber's artistic records of Captain Cook's voyages, this is also one of the rarest of the plates. It was issued separately, some six months before the publication of the official account of Cook's third voyage, which included an atlas of 61 plates and two maps. A reduced version of the present engraving, published in 1785, is sometimes bound into the atlases of first or second editions of the work, but it was not so issued. The present example of the 1784 engraving is trimmed and professionally restored, repairing a few tears and reinforcing the edges. It is accompanied by a typed description of the engraving framed similarly to the main print (15x15" overall); on the back of the print frame is the label of Lahaina Printsellers.