David Attenborough: Joseph Banks – Endeavor / Philip Stevens (2014)

The year 2018 marks the 250th anniversary of the legendary first voyage of Captain James Cook on board the collier frigate ship Endeavor. The voyage was a first in that science didn’t loose against the call of the adventure like many others did. The Endeavor established the fundamentals of scientific research on a vessel and set the pace for many other long distance expeditions including the voyage Darwin took on board the Beagle. Endeavor earned its place in history as a research vessel. It’s name was also given to the space shuttle that replaced Challenger as an honor.

This short documentary features David Attenborough discussing the life and legacy of Joseph Banks, botanist, scientist, explorer and President of the Royal Society. Filmed during the opening of a Banks exhibit at The Collection Lincoln it provides a perspective into the journey of one of science’s greatest unsung heroes.

Banks brought with him a team of scientists and artists which turned the voyage into a truly first of its kind scientific expedition. Thanks to this team a wealth of very accurate biological information was produced from far corners of the planet. Artists on board that would sketch and draw prodigiously. These drawings would later be masterfully retraced onto copper plates for reproduction. The process was extremely labor intensive and slow but the results were impressive for archival.

As Attenborough emphasizes, Banks was a champion promoter of science. It would take more than 10 years to reproduce scientific work recorded during the first voyage by Joseph Banks. After the crew returned in 1771, Banks employed five water colorists from the winter of 1773 to complete 595 new artworks based on the expedition artist and botanist Sydney Parkinson’s unfinished work who died during the voyage together with the other artist Herman Spöring from Finland. He then also employed 18 engravers until 1784, to cut copper printing plates, based on 743 artworks, in readiness for scientific publication in color.

Here Attenborough tells the story of how Banks acquired the specimen belonging to a highland species bird of paradise (Astrapia splendissisima) from that first voyage lead by James Cook. There are 39 species of birds of paradise that have evolved from a single ancestor that makes them a particularly attractive research target to understand speciation.