Unattributed “South East View of Lehigh Water Gap”

Unattributed.  “South East View of Lehigh Water Gap.” From The Port Folio. 

Philadelphia: September, 1812.  Paper size approximately  4 x 7.  Engraving.  Faint foxing in right hand margin and short repaired tear in bottom margin.  Else, very good condition.  

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.