1751 Sayer View of Westminster Bridge and Abbey, London, England

Johann Sebastian Muller (1715 - June, 1792), also known as John Sebastian Miller, was a German born generalist engraver active in London during the middle part of the 18th century. Muller was born in Nuremberg, Germany. He must have shown little aptitude for his father's profession, gardening, instead training as an engraver under Martin Tyroff. He moved to London with his Brother, Tobias Muller (Miller) in 1744. He took work with art-dealer Arthur Pond before starting to engrave on his own account around 1748. His work was exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1767. Muller was not specifically a map engraver, and his cartographic corpus is, thus, small and limited to a series of map engraved for William Drummond to illustrate his travels in the Levant, specifically Cyprus and Syria. Nonetheless, the maps from this volume are significant works that significantly influenced subsequent cartography in their respective regions. Muller was survived by two sons, John Frederick Miller and James Miller, both of whom also became engravers. More by this mapmaker...

Robert Sayer (1725 - January 29, 1794) was an important English map publisher and engraver active from the mid to late 18th century. Sayer was born in Sunderland, England, in 1725. He may have clerked as a young man with the Bank of England, but this is unclear. His brother, James Sayer, married Mary Overton, daughter-in-law of John Overton and widow of Philip Overton. Sayer initially worked under Mary Overton, but by December of 1748 was managing the Overton enterprise and gradually took it over, transitioning the plates to his own name. When Thomas Jefferys went bankrupt in 1766, Sayer offered financial assistance to help him stay in business and, in this way, acquired rights to many of the important Jefferys map plates as well as his unpublished research. From about 1774, he began publishing with his apprentice, John Bennett (fl. 1770 - 1784), as Sayer and Bennett, but the partnership was not formalized until 1777. Bennett retired in 1784 following a mental collapse and the imprint reverted to Robert Sayer. From 1790, Sayer added Robert Laurie and James Whittle to his enterprise, renaming the firm Robert Sayer and Company. Ultimately, Laurie and Whittle partnered to take over his firm. Sayer retired to Bath, where, after a long illness, he died. During most of his career, Sayer was based at 53 Fleet Street, London. His work is particularly significant for its publication of many British maps relating to the American Revolutionary War. Unlike many map makers of his generation, Sayer was a good businessman and left a personal fortune and great estate to his son, James Sayer, who never worked in the publishing business. Learn More...