pounds 200 a word.

Byline: Marie Levy

A rare and historic letter written by Captain James Cook, is expected to fetch up to pounds 20,000 - or about pounds 200 a word - at auction.

The 100-word letter written by the Yorkshire-born explorer, dated July 12, 1771, will go under the hammer at Sotheby's in London on Thursday .

The letter was written by Captain Cook on his Whitby-built ship, the Endeavour, just moments before he touched British soil for the first time in nearly three years after the expedition on which he mapped New Zealand, discovered Botany Bay and claimed New South Wales for King George III.

And while the letter is being sold to the highest bidder in London, copies of other important documents from the same voyage are going on display in Middlesbrough.

Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar has helped to arrange for the documents to be made available to the James Cook Birthplace Museum in Stewart Park.

Last year a large collection of material from Cook's voyages, including important historic charts, maps and documents, was transferred to the National Archives at Kew from the Hydrographic Office, Taunton.

Dr Kumar has campaigned for this Cook material to be made available to the Birthplace Museum for display and secured a swift response from the Archives.

Senior curator Phil Philo said: "We have been offered the opportunity to apply for the future loan of material for displays and temporary exhibitions but, meanwhile, the museum has been given this small collection of high-quality reproductions of Cook material for its Resolution Resources room."

Dr Kumar said: "It gives me a great sense of pride that we were able to acquire these documents for the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum so that local people can see for themselves what a great contribution Cook made."

The collection includes important documents from Cook's days as a seafarer and accounts of his death on February 14, 1779, in Hawaii.

According to Sotheby's the letter to be sold on Thursday was one of Cook's last duties on the Endeavour.

"Soon after the anchor went down in the Downs at about 3pm on the 12th, Cook went ashore at Deal and travelled immediately to the Admiralty Office in order to lay before the Commission a full account of the voyage," the auctioneers said.

Captain Cook was born in Marton, spent most of his childhood at Great Ayton and started his working life at a shop in Staithes.

* The Captain Cook Birthplace Museum is currently open from 9am to 4.30pm from Tuesday to Sunday.