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Frontpiece to Kort abeskrifning om beskrifning om provincien Nya Swerige uit America...[ A short description of the province of New Sweden], by Thomas Campanius Holm, 1702.
Credit: Courtesy of the Library Company of Philadelphia
In this 1702 engraving, Swedish artist Thomas Campanius Holm depicted a friendly exchange between local Indians and traders in New Sweden, on the Delaware River. Tomas, who never visited North America, based his fanciful image – including palm trees– upon descriptions written by his grandfather who had lived in New Sweden in the 1640s.