Born in Hebron, Connecticut, Humphrey Phelps (1799-1875) started his printing business in New York around 1830, when he issued his Strangers’ Guide to New York, which also included a map of the city that he had compiled himself. He later become well known for his immigrant and tourist guides to New York and America in general. During the early to mid-19th century, the printing and publishing business in New York was very flexible, with numerous project partnerships being made and broken. Often being issued in low numbers, this flurry of printing activity has resulted in a plethora of now rare publications that reveal how quickly both the cities and the country was developing. Among the many collars that Phelps engaged in, one of the most successful was his partnering with Edward Hooker Ensign to create their 1840s patriotic map of the United States.