Bourquin, Frederick

Frederick Bourquin (1808 - 1897), also spelled Bourgin, was a Swiss American engraver and lithographer active in Philadelphia in the mid- to late-19th century. Bourquin was born in Bern, Switzerland, and emigrated to the United States in 1817 accompanied by his brother, Charles F. Bourquin, also an engraver. They lived briefly in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and New York City, before relocating to Philadelphia in 1829 to join the lithographic firm of Kennedy and Lucas. Bourquin was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1834. From 1842 the brothers worked for Peter Stephen Duval (1804/5 - 1886) at 'P. S. Duval and Co.' They became partners in the firm in 1857. In 1858, Frederick left Duval to partner with Robert Pearsall Smith (1827 - 1898), one of the lead publishers in the Philadelphia-based county map and state atlas industry, publishing as 'F. Bourquin and Company' (602 Chestnut Street). Smith completely and inexplicably retired from publishing around 1865, leaving the business to Bourquin. Subsequently Bourquin shared premises and often published with William Bracher's (1829 - 1912) firm, 'Worley and Bracher'. In the mid-1850s Bourquin relocated to Camden, New Jersey, where he served on the City Council from the 1870s - 1880s and in the New Jersey State legislature in 1872. His sons, Frederick Bourquin, Jr., Gordon M. Bourquin, David L. Bourquin, and Charles L. Bourquin, were all, to a greater or lesser extent, involved in the lithographic and/or printing business.