Unattributed “Silver Lake. The Seat of Robert H. Rose Esq”

Unattributed.  “Silver Lake.  The Seat of Robert H. Rose Esq.” [Quaker Lake-Susquehanna County, PA]   From The Port Folio. 

Philadelphia, 1816.  3 3/4 x 7.  Aquatint and etching.  Very good condition. 

This interesting view of the home of Robert H. Rose at Silver Lake, Pennsylvania.  Rose was a contributor to The Port Folio, as well as a noted poet and essayist.  All of Silver Lake was at one time owned by Dr. Robert Rose (who purchased about 100,000 acres in 1809). He actively promoted Susquehanna County as a healthy place to live and is responsible for much of its early settlement.  

An early American engraving from The Port Folio.  This was a new type of American magazine, “Devoted to Useful Science, the Liberal Arts, Legitimate Criticism, and Polite Literature.”   It was a product of the new century, appearing first in January 1801.  It began as a weekly issue until 1809, when it became monthly until its demise at the end of 1827.  As with the many magazines that followed it, The Port Folio contained numerous illustrations, including this interesting view.  The fine views from The Port Folio are some of the most unusual and early American-made views of the country, and they form an important series of documents from the first three decades of the nineteenth century.