250 years ago, Captain James Cook commanded the first ship to venture south of the Antarctic Circle. Magyar Posta is issuing a special stamp in honour of the anniversary. Forty thousand copies of the new issue designed by the graphic artist Barnabás Baticz were produced by ANY Security Printing Company. The new issue will be available at first day post offices and Filaposta in Hungary from 4 April 2023, but may also be ordered from Magyar Posta’s online store.
James Cook (Yorkshire, Marton, 27 October 1728 – Hawaii, 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer and captain in the Royal British Navy. His ship was the first to cross the Antarctic Circle in 1773.
On the second of his voyages, between 13 July 1772 and 29 July 1775, James Cook was the first to circumnavigate Antarctica with his ship Resolution and finally refuted the existence of the hypothetical southern continent of Terra Australis. During this voyage, on 17 January 1773, he was the first captain to cross the Antarctic Circle. He explored the island of Niue, charting the known parts of the island and discovering new ones. He named the New Hebrides archipelago on 31 August 1774 and called the main island New Caledonia upon its discovery in September. Cook alsodiscovered the nearby Isle of Pines, now L’Île des Pins. In honour of James Cook, botanists named the new species of tree found there Araucaria cookii. In the South Atlantic, he surveyed and named the islands of South Georgia and South Sandwich. On returning to England, he was promoted to Captain and elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
The stamp shows a portrait of James Cook in the foreground while the Resolution and the outline of Antarctica are in the background. The main motif of the first day cover reproduces an engraving of the profile of James Cook. The imprint of the special postmark on the commemorative first day cover is a stylished drawing of the resolution.
