Collection: John Barber W.

John Warner Barber (1798–1885) was an American engraver, author, and historian best known for his illustrated local histories of towns and states. Born in East Windsor, Connecticut, he trained as an engraver and began publishing small historical and religious prints before turning to larger regional projects.

Barber’s most notable work, Historical Collections of Connecticut (1836), combined detailed wood engravings with descriptive text, offering one of the earliest visual records of American towns and landmarks. He later collaborated with Henry Howe on similar state histories, including volumes on New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Barber’s illustrations, though modest in scale, provide a valuable documentary record of early 19th-century American life and architecture.