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Lot 25

BANKS (JOSEPH)
[SCOTT (JOHN)] A Second Letter from Oberea, Queen of Otaheite, to Joseph Banks, Esq.; Translated from the Original, Brought over by his Excellency Otaipairoo, Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Queen of Otaheite, to the Court of Great Britain, Lately Arrived in His Majesty's Ship the Adventure, Capt. Furneaux

19 June 2013, 14:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

£600 - £800

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BANKS (JOSEPH)

[SCOTT (JOHN)] A Second Letter from Oberea, Queen of Otaheite, to Joseph Banks, Esq.; Translated from the Original, Brought over by his Excellency Otaipairoo, Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Queen of Otaheite, to the Court of Great Britain, Lately Arrived in His Majesty's Ship the Adventure, Capt. Furneaux, first edition, engraved vignette on title (based on Sydney Parkinson's engraving of Otegoowgoow, a New Zealander from the Bay of Islands), light browning, modern maroon morocco-backed marbled boards [Beddie 3919; Kroepelien 1171; O'Reilly-Reitman 9797], 4to, T.J. Carney, for E. Johnson, [1775?]

Footnotes

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".

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