1777 Philadelphia Map by Matthew Albert Lotter
Europeans following news of the American Revolution wanted to see the city where the Continental Congress met, and Matthew Albert Lotter gave it to them. This Philadelphia map, engraved and hand-colored by Lotter in 1777, was printed for that audience, though the survey behind it shows the city as it stood around 1752, decades before the streets filled with delegates and printers’ shops.
What you see is a land ownership map: named property holders, the original Penn grid running back from the Delaware, and the surrounding countryside laid out lot by lot. It is the Philadelphia Benjamin Franklin walked, when talk of independence was still a murmur rather than a declaration.
Map Shop prints it from a high-resolution scan of the original, digitally restored, so the engraving stays crisp. Available finishing options include:
- Premium paper
- 1.7mil satin lamination
- Foam core mounting
- Black and walnut molding for rails or a full frame
Historians, teachers, and Philadelphia firms hang it in offices, libraries, and studies where the city’s early street plan is worth a second look.

