This map is particularly unusual and intriguing insofar as it includes many antiquated place names. Further research reveals the backstories of these names often related to Dutch settlers and original Native American tribes. For example, in New Jersey, New Market, an unincorporated community located within Piscataway in Middlesex County is shown as Quibbletown. That nickname is said to date back to a historical dispute as to whether the Sabbath would be observed there on Saturday or Sunday. The Black River is called the Alamatunk River, an early name used by the Minisink Native Americans meaning “black earth bottom.” The map also includes Spanktown, an old nickname for Rahway, New Jersey associated with the Battle of Spanktown, a Revolutionary War battle fought there in 1777. On the New York side, Brooklyn is labeled Bruekelen, when it was a Dutch Settlement. That name was taken from a town in the Netherlands meaning broken land or boggy stream. Staten Eylandt, is given for Staten Island, also named by the Dutch and meaning States Island, after the parliament or States General of the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
The Van Voorhees family is the largest Dutch family in America, descended from its patriarch Steven Coerte van Voorhees, who arrived in New Amsterdam at the tip of Manhattan in 1660, and settled in New Amersfoort in Brooklyn, which was renamed Flatlands after the British took over. Both places are noted on this map. Many members of the family then relocated to New Brunswick, New Jersey, where they were recorded as being members of the Dutch Reformed Church around 1717. There are many variants to the spelling of the surname, with Voorhies, the artist’s surname, being one of the most common.<\/p>\n
Stephen Voorhies was an illustrator, painter, muralist, and pictorial map artist based in the New York City area. He commuted to a midtown Manhattan studio from his home in Long Island. Born in Brooklyn, Voorhies graduated from Pratt Institute there in 1922. He illustrated book covers and pages for major publishers such as Harper and Brothers, Funk and Wagnalls, and Whittlesey House\/McGraw Hill. He also produced covers for Fortune and Liberty magazines. Advertising illustration clients included the phone company’s Telephone Review, the New England Railroad and other transportation lines, banks, and others. He painted numerous views of Nassau County and Long Island and was active in the Art League of Nassau County, serving as president. Voorhies created three murals for the 1939 World’s Fair entitled This is Long Island<\/em>, and numerous maps of the New York area including parks, campgrounds, the subway system, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. His versatility as an artist, able to produce work in a realist as well as the informal style of Midnight Map of Manhattan<\/strong> (attributed to Voorhies) and A Man’s Map of New York<\/strong>, both of which were produced in anticipation of the 1939 New York World\u2019s Fair. This versatility is also evident in maps such as the circa 1936 pictorial map Historic Long Island<\/strong>, which was rendered in a straightforward manner with detailed inset illustrations of scenes from Long Island history.<\/p>\n Condition: Generally, very good with the usual overall light toning, wear, handling expected for a working example of illustration art. Artist\u2019s pencil notations in margins can be matted out for framing.<\/p>\n References:<\/p>\n “Historic Long Island.” Center for Brooklyn History.<\/em> https:\/\/mapcollections.brooklynhistory.org\/map\/historic-long-island-a-map-showing-its-towns-villages-and-the-outstanding-events-during-its-development-over-a-period-of-more-than-three-hundred-years-designed-by-stephen-j-voorhies\/ (22 March 2024).<\/p>\n “History of the Van Voorhees Family.” The Van Voorhees Association.<\/em> 2024. http:\/\/www.vanvoorhees.org\/history.php (30 October 2025).<\/p>\n “Stephen Voorhies.” AskArt. https:\/\/www.askart.com\/artist\/Stephen_Voorhies\/122470\/Stephen_Voorhies.aspx (22 March 2024).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Stephen Jerome Voorhies (1898-1972) An original manuscript historical map of East New Jersey. As indicated by the subtitle, the cartographer, Stephen Jerome Voorhies made the map to show this region in the times of his ancestors after 1700, tracing back to the family patriarch Steven Coerten van Voorhees (1600\u20131684). Accordingly, it includes many antiquated Dutch place names, as well ones by Native America Indians, and also amusing nicknames, that illuminate various aspects of the history of the settlement of this region. The map shows a portion of New Jersey with named counties Morris, Essex, Middlesex, and Monmouth. It also includes the southern portion of the Hudson River and opposite shore with portions of New York City and Westchester County. From the north, the map extends to Pompton, Paterson, and Kinderkamack, New Jersey, and Yonkers, New York. From the south it extends to Princeton, Trenton and Freehold.\u00a0 In the west in extends from the Black River (called Alamatunk River) and Delaware River, to the east showing Manhattan and parts of New York City and Sandy Hook in New Jersey. The Hudson, New York Bay, Raritan Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean are labeled and colored black. Roads and major cities and towns are shown, as are rivers. Marshy areas are shaded with hatch marks. This undated work was in the estate collection of the artist, and quite possibly was made for personal use, though it does have pencil photo production layout notes in the margins suggesting a possible subsequent printing or publication.<\/p>\n Product description continues below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":45172,"template":"","meta":{"wds_primary_product_brand":0,"wds_primary_product_cat":0,"footnotes":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[565,921],"product_tag":[61,7060,549,1485,650,538,692,1819,3656,10322,10321],"class_list":{"0":"post-45158","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-mid-atlantic","7":"product_cat-speciaty-maps","8":"product_tag-20th-century","9":"product_tag-antique-map","10":"product_tag-cartography","11":"product_tag-dutch","12":"product_tag-manuscript","13":"product_tag-map","14":"product_tag-new-jersey","15":"product_tag-original","16":"product_tag-pen-and-ink","17":"product_tag-stephen-voohies","18":"product_tag-voorhies","19":"post","20":"post-with-thumbnail","21":"post-with-thumbnail-large","23":"first","24":"instock","25":"product-type-simple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/45158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/45158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45187,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/45158\/revisions\/45187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=45158"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=45158"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=45158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nPart of East New Jersey Wherein Many Descendants of Steven Coerten van Voorhees Made Their Homes After 1700<\/strong>
\nAmerican: Mid 20th Century
\nPen and ink and white gouache on stiff card
\nSigned V lower right (for Voorhies)
\n13.25 x 7.75 inches, ruled border
\n15.25 x 10.25 inches, overall
\nProvenance: Estate of Stephen Jerome Voorhies<\/p>\n