Lewis, Samuel “Holland or The Seven United Provinces, And The Netherlands.”

Samuel Lewis (c.1754-1822).  “Holland or The Seven United Provinces, And The Netherlands.”  From Carey's General Atlas…

Philadelphia: Matthew Carey. 1814.  15 ¾ x 13 (neat lines).  Engraving.  Original outline hand color.  Repaired tear in left hand margin with some scattered smudging and soiling.  Else, good condition. 

An interesting American map of the Netherlands.  Published by Mathew Carey, his map is from Carey’s Atlas which represented the best American cartographic work of the period.  Carey, an Irish immigrant, established the first American specialized cartographic publishing firm.  He set up an elaborate cottage system of craftsmen for engraving, printing, and coloring his maps utilizing the best independent artists directed to a common end.  Carey is important, then, not only for the excellent maps he produced, but for his setting the pattern for American map publishing, to be followed by the likes of John Melish and Henry S. Tanner.  The map displays excellent and clear detail.