This important copper-plate engraved hand coloured original antique large scale map of the explorations of Capt. Cook in Alaska, the Bering Strait and Kamchatka illustrating the tracks of his ships in 1778 and 1779 was engraved by the Frenchman Robert Benard and was published in the 1st French edition of Cooks voyages in 1785.

It has been said that, in a single visit, Cook charted the majority of the North American northwest coastline on world maps for the first time, determined the extent of Alaska and closed the gaps in Russian (from the West) and Spanish (from the South) exploratory probes of the Northern limits of the Pacific. The Bering Strait proved to be impassable, although he made several attempts to sail through it. He became increasingly frustrated on this voyage, and perhaps began to suffer from a stomach ailment; it has been speculated that this led to irrational behaviour towards his crew, such as forcing them to eat walrus meat, which they found inedible.
After Capt. James Cook's death in Hawaii in February 1779, Charles Clerke, the Captain of Cook's ship “Discovery” took command of the “Resolution”, the primary vessel of Cook's Expedition to the Pacific, & John Gore, Cook's 1st Lieutenant took command of the “Discovery”. Together Clerke and Gore took the ships up to the Bering Strait & Russian Alaska to survey & chart the arctic regions, in order to fulfill Cook's own plans, now thwarted by his death. This finely engraved chart by Benard, shows the tracks of Cook's ships in 1778 and 1779 along America's Pacific northwest coast to Prince William Sound & Cook's River, around the Aleutians and through the Bering Strait. Finding the region too icy to continue northward, the ships turned and headed down the Russian coast to Kamtchatka. From thence the ships returned to England via China, the East Indies & the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

Cook's Third Voyage (1776-1779)
In the course of his first two voyages, Cook circumnavigated the globe twice, sailed extensively into the Antarctic, and charted coastlines from Newfoundland to New Zealand. Following these achievements, Cook's third voyage was organized to seek an efficient route from England to southern and eastern Asia that would not entail rounding the Cape of Good Hope. The search for such a Northwest (or Northeast) Passage had been on the agenda of northern European mariners and merchants since the beginning of European expansion in the late fifteenth century. England's growing economic and colonial interests in India in the later eighteenth century provided the stimulus for the latest exploration for this route.

Cook, again in command of the Resolution, was to approach the Northwest Passage from the Pacific accompanied by a second ship, the Discovery, captained by Charles Clerke. The ships left England separately, regrouped at Cape Town, and continued on to Tasmania, New Zealand, and Tahiti. The expedition then sailed north and made landfall at Christmas Island and the Hawaiian Islands. Cook continued northward and charted the west coast of North America from Northern California as far as the Bering Strait. He returned to Hawaii for the winter and was killed in a skirmish with natives on February 14, 1779. Upon Cook's death, Clerke took command of the expedition but died six months later. The ships returned to England in 1780 under John Gore, who had commanded the Discovery after Cook's death. From start to finish, the voyage had lasted more than four years. (Ref Tooley; M&B; Clancy)

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Light and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: -  Early
Colors used: - Green, yellow, red,  
General color appearance: -  Authentic
Paper size: - 26 1/2in x 16 1/2in (670mm x 420mm)
Plate size: - 26in x 16in (660mm x 405mm)
Margins: - 1/4in (4mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - Browning in right margin
Plate area: - Creasing along folds as issued, offsetting
Verso: - Re-enforced along folds

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