“Nothing odd will do long” – Samuel Johnson
Captain Cook’s “ship of my choice”, sketched by one of his draughtsmen on the second voyage
20 STERNE, Laurence. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy. York & London: R. and J. Dodsley, T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, 1760–67 £27,500 [ 159829 ] 9 volumes, small octavo (151 × 94 mm). Contemporary near-uniform calf (vols. I and II sewn on five cords, remainder on four), spines numbered in gilt, spine bands and covers ruled in gilt. Housed in a modern cloth slipcase. Frontispiece to vol. III bound in vol. IV; with E5, vol. I, printed black on both sides; with the inserted unsigned leaf, marbled both sides, between L4 and L5, vol. III; L2r, vol. VI, left blank for the reader’s imaginary portrait of the widow Wadman; dedication in vol. IX in variant a (“poste/ori”); without initial blank in vol. V (as per the Rothschild copy), else complete including all half- titles. Purchase note in vol. I dated 1909, 19th-century ownership inscription in vols III–IX “Harris Hayne” (possibly a member of the Harris family of Hayne, Devon), earlier ownership inscription excised at head of title in vol. VI. Joints and extremities neatly restored. Slight rubbing to vol. IX, offsetting from turn-ins to initial and final leaves, scattered light foxing, else contents clean. A very attractive set. ¶ Rothschild 1970.
21 COOK, James – HODGES, William. Original drawing with watercolour highlights of HMS Resolution . [c.1773] £42,500 Drawing on paper with watercolour highlights, border of concentric circles (45 mm diameter); with associated note of provenance, ink on paper (95 × 75 mm). Lightly soiled, a few tiny pin holes (central hole where a compass was used to create the framing circles), peripheral chips and short closed tears, a few minor ink splashes but overall the image well defined and clear. [ 156404 ] Provenance: from the collection of Vice- Admiral Sir Richard Grindall (1750–1820); thence by direct descent through his family. Despite having passed his lieutenant’s examination Grindall joined the Resolution as an able seaman. “He messed with the midshipmen during the voyage, and [fellow midshipman] John Elliott described him as ‘a Steady Clever young man’. Immediately, at the end of the voyage and to the great surprise of the rest of the crew, Grindall accompanied Cook from Portsmouth to London. According to Elliott, ‘The same day Captn Cook with Messrs Forster, Wales, Hodges, and my Messmate Grindal set out for London. The latter we now found (and not till now) had Married a very handsome young Lady, and left her, within an hour after, on our leaving England’” (Captain Cook Society website). That “very handsome young Lady” was Katherine Festing (1759–1831), who came from a musical background, both of her grandfathers being celebrated violinists and composers. It is presumably her note that accompanies the drawing: “The Resolution , Capt. Cook. My dr. Husband went round the World in the 2nd Voyage Capt. Cooke [ sic ] went”.
First editions, first state throughout, signed by Sterne in volumes V, VII, and IX as called for, to protect his book from piracy. The episodic nature of its publication means that Tristram Shandy is rare in first edition throughout. A masterpiece of English literature, and a work of extraordinary novelty, Tristram Shandy toyed with the numerous conventions that had already grown of how novels should be written, structured, and – with its playful marbled, black, and illustrative pages – printed. The work is widely seen as a precursor of modernist and post-modernist fiction, and was an acknowledged influence on various 20th-century writers, including Virginia Woolf and James Joyce.
A lovingly preserved relic from Cook’s second expedition, a delicately rendered drawing of HMS Resolution under sail sketched from astern, the White Ensign clearly visible, also a streamer flying from the main mast and a jack at the bow. It is attributed to William Hodges, who accompanied Cook as draughtsman. Hodges (1744–1797), the son of a blacksmith, was at 14 apprenticed to the landscape painter Richard Wilson “and made rapid progress” ( ODNB ). Leaving Wilson’s studio in 1765, Hodges exhibited in London and briefly worked as a scene-painter in Derby before returning to London. Through the intervention of Lord Palmerston, he was appointed to Cook’s expedition (1772–5). “During the Cook voyage he developed an individual response to the problems of representing light and meteorological conditions which brought criticism from a society not yet ready for a departure from recognized traditions” (ibid.).
SIXTY FINE ITEMS
All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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