John Harris I, engraver and draughtsman, was probably born in Northamptonshire. Early in his career he produced mainly maps and plans. One of his earliest engravings is a ‘Survey of the Parish of Stepney and Stebunheath’, Middlesex, made up of ten sheets. He engraved similar multi-sheet maps of areas in Ireland, Scotland and Cambridgeshire. From 1711, he made architectural and bird’s-eye views. It seems he was also employed as a surveyor, drawing properties to order. Harris’s best known works were for ‘The History of St Paul’s Cathedral in London’ (1716). Although he produced views of American prospects for publisher William Burgis, there is no evidence that he visited the US. Later in his career he illustrated antiquarian county histories.
