
Luke Batterham
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£600 - £800
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RARE. A satirical poem inspired by the arrival in England of Omai, a native of Huahine who had been brought back from the South Seas by Captain Furneaux aboard the Adventure, and drawing on John Hawkesworth's Voyages. It takes the form of a "love serenade" sent to Joseph Banks from the queen of Tahiti, fuelled by rumours of Banks' amorous exploits during the first Cook voyage. "Though other lovers strive my heart to gain/I scorn their offers, and despite their pain/Pink'd tho' their bums, it serves to raise my phlegm/And, in disdain, I turn my bum to them".