A very rare work, with scenes of the north-eastern USA in early lithography after drawings made by the French artist, socialite, and niece of the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Charlotte Napoléone Bonaparte (31 October 1802 - 2 March 1839). She was the daughter of Joseph Bonaparte, the older brother of Emperor Napoleon I, and Marie Julie Clary (1771-1845), Queen Consort of Naples. Her mother was the sister of Désirée Clary, Napoleon's first love. Charlotte married her first cousin Louis Napoleon, the second son of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense de Beauharnais, on 23 July 1826. She studied engraving and lithography in Paris with the Swiss artist Louis Léopold Robert (1794-1835), who is reputed to have fallen in love with her. In Brussels she was a pupil of the great French painter Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). After her father was deposed in 1813, he moved to America and purchased "Point Breeze", an estate on the Delaware River near Bordentown, New Jersey. His palatial house was filled with paintings and sculpture by Jacques-Louis David, Antonio Canova, Peter Paul Rubens, and Titian. The surrounding park of 1,800 acres (7.3 square km) included landscaped gardens. Joseph Bonaparte played host to many of the nation's wealthiest citizens, and his art collection played a crucial role in transmitting high European taste to America. Charlotte, known as the Countess de Survilliers (this name also used here on the title page), lived with her father in New Jersey from December 1821 to August 1824. While there, she sketched numerous landscapes including Passaic Falls, her father's "Point Breeze" estate, the town of Lebanon, and others, some of which were engraved for a book of Picturesque American Scenes by Joubert. Extant landscape drawings by her include Passaic Falls, a view near Tuckerton, and Schooley's Mountain. She also painted portraits (Cora Monges, 1822; Emilie Lacoste, 1823) and exhibited her work at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Provenance: " Dessinés et lithographiés par la Princesse Charlotte Bonaparte fille du roi Joseph. Donnés à mon cousin" handwritten by Charlotte on the title [AND] " Monsieur Hopkinson" handwritten on the title. Joseph Hopkinson (1770-1842) was a lawyer, musician, writer, politician and judge. "Joseph Hopkinson was one of Joseph Bonaparte’s closest friends and neighbours in the United States. He also composed the lyrics to America’s unofficial national anthem. ... His father was Francis Hopkinson, a lawyer, writer, musician and patriot who signed the Declaration of Independence and may have designed the American flag. ... In 1791, he began practicing law in Philadelphia. .... As a young lawyer, Hopkinson established his reputation in some of the most famous trials of the day. ... One of the things Joseph Hopkinson was renowned for during his lifetime was writing 'Hail Columbia.' This was the de facto national anthem of the United States for most of the 19th century. It remained a contender until 1931, when 'The Star-Spangled Banner' officially gained the title. read more