A Catalogue of the Different Specimens of Cloth . . .

Bound volume containing samples of tapa cloth collected by Captain Cook. 8 pages of text and 44 pieces of tapa cloth.

The catalogue is identified as: A Catalogue of the Different Specimens of Cloth collected on 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. Now properly arranged and printed for Alexander Shaw, No. 379, Strand, London.

Text pages include the title, page, and introduction (both not numbered) and 6 pages of description from Captain Cook’s Voyage (#3 not numbered; 4-8 numbered).

Kapa cloth is produced from the inner bark of a tree, typically wauke (paper mulberry), which is cultivated, harvested, and processed through soaking, scraping, fermenting, and repeated beating to form and refine the cloth. Patterned beaters may be used during production to create watermarks that can reflect regional styles or maker affiliations. After drying, the cloth is decorated using natural dyes and bamboo implements.

Finished kapa was utilized in various ways, most prominently as clothing items. This includes pāʻū (skirts) for women and malo (loincloth) for men. Kapa was also used as kapa moe (bedding), and for presenting to family members, friends, and individuals of higher social rank.

From the eighteenth century onward, European collectors and scholars frequently collected kapa, often removing small samples from larger textiles to facilitate transport, study, and comparison in museum and private collections, a practice especially common during and after Cook’s voyages in the Pacific.