In some but not all examples of Sir Henry Chauncy’s ‘Historical Antiquities of Hertfordshire’ printed in 1700 is a print entitled ‘The North Prospect Of The Town Of Hertford From Porthill’ engraved by John Drapentier. No bibliographical reason for this has been identified. Born in France about 1650 Drapentier was an etcher and line engraver specialising in portraits and frontispieces. Of the five examples of the book in the British Library only two bear the plate. The view bears the pagination engraved near the right margin near the river which is not present here. However close examination shows that they are in fact two different plates.

This close derivative also repeats the dedication and presence of John Drapentier’s imprint. The dedication is to the Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen of the town of Hertford. Whether this is a further engraving by him is unknown as is the purpose of this second plate. It is however much rarer than the plate found in the book. This example was at one point bound in to a book bearing the remains of a guard on the verso. Refer Upcott pp. 333-8.