Hand-coloured aquatint. 280 by 414mm. London, Boydell & Comp. No. 90 Cheapside, April 1, 1809 [but [1819]
Issued as plate VII in Views in the South Seas, and bearing the Whatman watermark dated 1820.
Webber served on two of Cook's voyages, and was responsible for the majority of the images which form the atlas accompanying the official narrative of the third voyage. The material he chose concentrates more on the lush tropical vegetation than on the native peoples, thereby "promoting a utopian image of the islands" (Joppien & Smith). Webber's plates are the only colour images relating to this particular expedition.
Views in the South Seas evolved over a number of years from the original series of twelve soft ground etchings produced between 1788 and 1792. The final result was produced in 1808, although the majority of copies bear later watermarks suggesting that they were printed between 1819 and 1820. cf. Joppien & Smith, 3.138A b.
A Toopapaoo of a Chief, (1820)
A View in the Island of Pulo Condore. (1819)
