Robert Sayer (ca. 1724-1794) was a prominent London map publisher. Robert’s father was a lawyer, but his older brother married Mary Overton, the widow of prominent mapmaker Philip Overton and the proprietor of his shop after his death. Mary continued the business for roughly a year after her marriage and then, in early 1748, it passed to Robert. Robert became a freeman of the Stationers’ Company later that year; his first advertisement as an independent publisher was released in December.
Sayer benefited from Overton’s considerable stock, which included the plates of John Senex. In the 1750s, Sayer specialized in design books and topographical prints, as well as comic mezzotints. In 1753, he, along with John Roque, published a new edition of Thomas Read’s Small British Atlas, the first of several county atlases that Sayer would publish.
Sayer’s business continued to grow. In 1760 he moved further down Fleet Street to larger premises at 53 Fleet Street. In 1766, he acquired Thomas Jefferys’ stock when the latter went bankrupt. In 1774, he entered into a partnership with John Bennett, his former apprentice. The pair specialized in American atlases, based on the work of Jefferys. They also began publishing navigational charts in the 1780s and quickly became the largest supplier of British charts in the trade.
Bennett’s mental health declined, and the partnership ended in 1784. As Sayer aged, he relied on his employees Robert Laurie and James Whittle, who eventually succeeded him. He spent more and more time at his house in Richmond. In 1794, he died in Bath.
The First National Atlas of the United States. The Exceptionally Rare 1783 Edition of Jeffery’s American Atlas. Thomas Jefferys' American Atlas was one of the four great atlases of the Colonies available during the Revolution - along with Faden's...
Rare Map of the Atlantic at the Outset of the French & Indian War Extremely rare separately issued map of North America, The Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean, issued by William Herbert in London. The map is richly annotated with information both...
One of the Most Detailed and Important Map of the Americas made by a Scandalous Geographer This is a nice example of the northernmost sheets of 1775 edition of this important six sheet chart of North and South America, originally compiled by John...
![[Seychelles] A Chart of the Mahe and Amirantes Islands, with their Shoals by Monsr. le Vicomte Grenier 1776](/map/small/66725.jpg)
The First Commercially Published Map of the Amirantes and Seychelles First state of this rare early sea chart of the Seychelles, published by Robert Sayer in London. The chart covers the Mahe and Amirantes islands, also known as the Three Brothers...
![[Diego Garcia / Chagos Archipelago] Track of the Calcutta East Indiaman, over the Bassas de Chagas, in the Indian Ocean](/map/small/66729.jpg)
Rare separately published sea chart of the Chagos Archipelago, published in London by Sayer. Chagos Archipelago Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to discover the archipelago. Portuguese navigator Pedro de Mascarenhas (1470 – 23 June...
A nice example of the Sayer-Jefferys London issue of Lewis Evans' seminal map of the British Colonies in North America. Along with the maps of Henry Popple and John Mitchell, Lewis Evans' map is considered among the most important and influential...
The third state of Jefferys map of the British Colonies, based upon D'Anville's map. This third state was issued after the conclusion of the French and Indian War. The map shows the Colonies on the eve of the American Revolutionary War. A note in the...
Striking 4-sheet map of North America on the eve of the American Revolution. The map is one of the best large format representations of the British Colonies, from a British perspective, on the eve of the Revolution. The claims of the Carolinas,...
![The Theatre of War in North America, with the Roads and a Table of the Distances [with] A Compendious Account of the British Colonies in North-America.](/map/small/43988.jpg)
Nice example of the rare first state of Sayer & Bennett's Broadside Map and Account of the War in North America, one of the first widely distributed news accounts of the American Revolution in Great Britain. Following a brief peace attempt between...
First "Pownall" edition of this influential wall map of North America, issued shortly after the commencement of the Revolutionary War in 1777, and including the revisions compiled by Governor George Pownall. Originally issued separately by Bowen &...
Striking example of this monumental 4-sheet map of North America, issued shortly after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. Originally issued separately by Bowen & Gibson in 1755, this map was periodically updated following the conclusion of...
Striking example of this monumental 4-sheet map of North America, issued shortly after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. Originally issued separately by Bowen & Gibson in 1755, this map was periodically updated following the conclusion of...
Important early broadside map and plan of the Battle of Bunker Hill and the area around Boston, published by Sayer & Bennett, in London in 1775. Sayer & Bennett's map of the Seat of War is one of the two earliest pictorial accounts of the...
A scarce "Holster Atlas" edition of Sayer and Bennett's highly important map of New England and eastern Canada at the start of the American Revolution. This edition of the map was prepared specifically for the American Military Pocket Atlas, an atlas...
An Important Revolutionary War Period map of Lake Champlain & Lake George, based upon William Brassier's survey of the region during the French & Indian War. Sayer & Bennett's map is the first separately published map to focus on Lake...
First state of this rare sailing chart of the area around New York Harbor and Long Island, which was issued separately and in the first edition of Sayer & Bennett's North American Pilot. This finely detailed chart is centered on Staten Island,...
