1815 Walker IOW Map

This wonderful Isle of Wight map was drawn by T. Webster and engraved by John Walker who was the head hydrographer to the East India Company until 1936.

Published by Payne and Foss of Pall Mall in 1815, it shows detailed topographical information of the Wight as well as the nearby Lymington salt works.

Little is known of  T. Webster but John Henry Walker (1831–1899), a pioneering Canadian engraver and illustrator, was born in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. In 1842, while he was still a small kid, he immigrated to Canada with his family and settled in Toronto, Upper Canada. John Henry Walker is credited with creating some of the first engravings and illustrations in Canada. Beginning in 1845, he served as an apprentice to the engraver Cyrus A. Swett for a period of three years, during which he was instructed in copper and wood engraving.

Walker produced the front-cover illustration for his introduction of Punch in Canada in 1849. His engravings were used in catalogues, government reports, ads, and periodicals such as The Canadian Illustrated News, L’Opinion Publique, and Le Monde Illustré. Walker was also responsible for the engravings that were used in Punch.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_Walker