 Title page of Catalogue of Tapa Cloth, 1787 | |
| Author | Alexander H. Shaw |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Reference works |
| Published | 1787 & 1804-1806 |
| Publisher | Alexander Shaw, no. 379, Strand, London |
| Media type | Print/samples |
| Pages | varies |
A catalogue of the different specimens of cloth collected in the three voyages of Captain Cook, to the Southern Hemisphere : with a particular account of the manner of manufacturing the same in the various islands of the South Seas : partly extracted from Mr. Anderson and Reinhold Forster's observations, and the verbal account of some of the most knowing of the navigators : with some anecdotes that happened to them among the natives, is a 1787 book cataloguing examples of Pacific tapa cloth collected by James Cook on his first, second and third voyages through the South Pacific 1768–1780.
Tapa cloth made using a variety of plants was collected by Captain James Cook on all three of his voyages through the Pacific. The locations represented in these published collections are mainly Tahiti, Mo'orea, Raiatea, Bora Bora, Huahine, New Zealand, Easter Island, the Marquesas Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Hawaii and an example from Jamaica.[1] The book was published by Alexander Shaw and each copy contains original tapa cloth samples inserted directly onto the pages or attached to the binding as pages. The number of samples and the cloth itself varies in each copy of the book. As of 2015 there are about 66 known examples of the book known to exist.[2]
Little is known of Shaw's early life but he did serve for 27 years as an army officer before retiring on half-pay.[3] After this Shaw set himself up as a bookdealer, and dealer of natural history specimens who published the first issue of this book from a shop in The Strand, London. By the time of his death at Damhead, Justice Mills, on 22 July 1807, it was reported in the Aberdeen Journal that he had been living in the vicinity of Aberdeen and Edinburgh for a 'good many years.' This seems to imply that the second issue of the book may have been made by Shaw while living in Scotland.[4]
Three issues of the book are thought to have been published. The ‘first issue,’ usually containing 38-39 specimens, appeared in 1787 (with no paper watermarks). Around 1805–06, a ‘second issue’ was made with text sheets left over from the original printing and usually 56 specimens (with larger samples) and watermarks (1803-1806). A third issue - represented by the State Library of New South Wales copy DSM/C525 - contains completely different cloth specimens from the first two editions. It has also been suggested that the tapa cloth samples used in the two issues were from different sources, and in the case of the second issue may have been sourced from the sale of the contents of the Leverian collection in 1806.[5]
Following the death of James Cook the publishing of material relating to his three voyages was almost an industry unto itself and A catalogue of the different specimens of cloth remains one of the more unusual. Produced in very limited numbers the book is a hybrid publication, part text and part unique specimens. The collections made during Cook's three voyages represent the first extensive contact between European and Pacific cultures and these tapa specimens, while not always the result of first contact, remain significant as they are among the first collections to have been identified and studied. They are also important due to the sharp decline in tapa production in the Pacific following Cook's voyages.[6]
The following list has been compiled from, Donald Kerr, Census of Alexander Shaw's Catalogue of the Different Specimens of Cloth Collected in the Three Voyages of Captain Cook, 2015.[7]
