Bryan Edwards was born in Westbury, Wiltshire, England on May 21, 1743, the eldest son of Bryan Edwards and Elizabeth Bayly. After the death of his father in 1756, young Bryan came under the care of various family members, eventually relocating to Jamaica where he would spend the majority of the rest of his life. In 1793, he published the first London edition of his History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies, a two-volume account of the history and culture of the British colonized islands, which ran for five editions, including an 1806 edition published in Philadelphia by James Humphreys. He passed away on July 16, 1800 in Southampton, England.

James Humphreys was born on January 15, 1748/49 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to James Humphreys and Susanna Assheton. Humphreys was apprenticed to William Bradford, a Philadelphia printer, until 1770 and opened his own printing business in the city two years later. After being labeled a Loyalist during the outbreak of the American Revolution, Humphreys left Philadelphia for nearly 20 years, returning in late 1796 or early 1797. In reestablishing his printing business Humphreys chose to focus on book printing until his death on February 2, 1810.

Joseph H. Seymour was an engraver who began his work with Isiah Thomas in Worcester, Massachusetts until relocating to Philadelphia between 1803-1822. Benjamin Tanner, the older brother of engraver Henry S. Tanner, was also an engraver who trained and began his career in New York City before relocating to Philadelphia some time before 1811.