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The publication of this official account was much delayed, and, according to Holmes, "it was so eagerly awaited by the public that it was sold out on the third day after publication". Forbes declares the work to be "arguably the single most important book on the Hawaiian Islands" which "documents all aspects of Hawaiian culture at the point of discovery by Europeans. It is a magnificent summation of all the public and private journals, logs, drawings, and other observations made during the course of the voyage and is as important a record of the exploration of the North Pacific as Cook's first two voyages had been for the South Pacific." He also asserts "The second edition of Cook's Third Voyage is considered typographically superior to the first edition." Forbes 85; Holmes 47; Howes C729a; Sabin 16250. Each volume with the bookplate of William Seymour Blackstone, son of William Blackstone, author of Commentaries on the Laws of England. Additional label on free endpapers stating that these volumes come from the library of Australian Statesman, Sir Henry Parkes. Text volumes complete with all plates called for, lacking only the atlas volume and its 63 plates.