Beautifully framed important 1785 map of the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and the Bering Strait depicting the two expeditions of Captain James Cook.  Its full title in French is "Carte de l'Entrée de Norton, et du Detroit de Bhering ou Von vou le Cap le plus oriental de l'Asie, et la Pointe la plus occidentale de l'Amerique", printed in Paris by Benard.  The map covers the Bering Strait from the Chukchi Sea north of Cape Prince of Wales south to St. Lawrence Island (Isle de Clerke, inclusive of Norton Sound and the Seward Peninsula of Alaska and the eastern tip of Russia.  Geographical features are identified with relief beautifully rendered and hand-colored.  The routes taken by Cook on his ship the HMS Resolution between 1778 and 1779 are noted  throughout.  It is paired with a 1778 engraving "O-Tai, his Wife and Sisters visiting Captn Cook on board the Resolution Sloop at O'Taheitee", from Moore's Voyages and Travels, depicting a scene from Captain Cook's second Voyage to the Southern Hemisphere in 1773. 
 
Framed to museum-grade standards in a handmade 1/2 inch wide antiqued gold wood frame, linen conservation mat, and Tru Vue Optium Museum Acrylic® glazing.  As with all of our framed art, the frame and framing materials are new.  Both are in excellent condition, having never been previously displayed, and once framed is stored in a controlled environment away from light.  The overall size of the framed map is 14 x 18 1/2 inches, and the print 14 x 10 inches.
 
Captain James Cook (1728 - 1779), is one of the most important cartographers in the history.  Cook began sailing as a teenager before joining the Royal Navy in 1755.  He was posted in Canada, where he worked Samuel Holland, William Bligh, and others in the mapping of the St. Lawrence River and Newfoundland.  In 1766 Cook was commissioned to explore the Pacific and given command of HMS Endeavour.  What followed were three historic voyages of discovery, which included the first European contact with eastern Australia, the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands, the first circumnavigation of New Zealand, some of the first sightings of Antarctica, and the first accurate mapping of the Pacific Northwest.  The influence of Cook work on the mapping and exploration of the Pacific Ocean is enormous.