Biography from Brierhill Gallery and New England Art Exchange:

Etcher and book illustrator Philip Kappel was born in Hartford, Connecticut and graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. He also studied with marine artist Philip Little in Salem, Massachusetts, and was employed as an artist by several American steamship lines. He made six trips around the world on sailing vessels to gather themes, mainly maritime, for his etchings, which are held by major American museums and the Bibliotheque National in Paris. At age twenty-six he would become the youngest person ever to be included in Who's Who in America.

Kappel's  artwork constitutes a record of the shipping industry in the United States at its peak. He was the author of several books, including Boothbay Harbor - a Portfolio of Sketches (1924), Louisiana Gallery (1960), Jamaica Gallery (1960), and New England Gallery (1966). He died in 1981.