The Republic of Texas - 1844
The "Smoking Gun" Map of Texas
By the early 1830s the Mexican government was beginning to worry about Texas.
The plan to colonize that big, empty territory with industrious Norte Americanos was working a little too well, and high officials were wondering if the whole thing might backfire.
So in 1833 they sent Colonel Juan Almonte on an inspection tour to find out what was going on. Upon his return, in late 1834, he wrote a secret report laying out what it would take to hold on to Texas.
With his report he included this map by cartographer David H. Burr, showing all the lands granted to empresarios in the colonization scheme. To Almonte it was exhibit A, the smoking gun, the reason to panic. It showed that nearly all of Texas had been given over to speculators, mostly American but also European, and Mexican.
A little over a year later, when Santa Anna set out to crush the rebellious Tejanos and Texians, General Vicente Filisola carried a copy of this map with him to plan the route of his army.
Burr's map of Texas is considered one of the two most important maps of Texas produced before independence. It documents the explosion of immigration into Texas, showing the seventeen huge empresario land grants.
The map includes a vignette of Galveston Bay produced by Lieutenant Alexander Thompson of the Mexican Navy in 1828. At the upper left corner of this vignette, at that time unnamed, is the piece of ground that would soon be known as the Field of San Jacinto.
There Colonel Almonte would be captured by the victorious Texian Army on April 21, 1836, his worst nightmares about Texas realized.
The plan to colonize that big, empty territory with industrious Norte Americanos was working a little too well, and high officials were wondering if the whole thing might backfire.
So in 1833 they sent Colonel Juan Almonte on an inspection tour to find out what was going on. Upon his return, in late 1834, he wrote a secret report laying out what it would take to hold on to Texas.
With his report he included this map by cartographer David H. Burr, showing all the lands granted to empresarios in the colonization scheme. To Almonte it was exhibit A, the smoking gun, the reason to panic. It showed that nearly all of Texas had been given over to speculators, mostly American but also European, and Mexican.
A little over a year later, when Santa Anna set out to crush the rebellious Tejanos and Texians, General Vicente Filisola carried a copy of this map with him to plan the route of his army.
Burr's map of Texas is considered one of the two most important maps of Texas produced before independence. It documents the explosion of immigration into Texas, showing the seventeen huge empresario land grants.
The map includes a vignette of Galveston Bay produced by Lieutenant Alexander Thompson of the Mexican Navy in 1828. At the upper left corner of this vignette, at that time unnamed, is the piece of ground that would soon be known as the Field of San Jacinto.
There Colonel Almonte would be captured by the victorious Texian Army on April 21, 1836, his worst nightmares about Texas realized.
Here are some close-ups:
Physical Details
- 20 by 24 inches
- Limited Edition of 254 Copies
- Each one is hand-numbered
This is a high quality fine-art print.
The paper is acid free, cold press cotton watercolor with an elegant ever so lightly textured finish. This surface allows the inks to 'bite', reproducing the shading and tonality of the original map vividly, beautifully, and exactly.
The inks are guaranteed color-fast for 80 years, which means you won't need to lay out the extra money for UV glass. You can hang your map in direct sun and it will be just as bright when they are passed on to the next generation it is the day it ships.
It's an instant heirloom. Get yours before they're gone...and get one to give to a friend. He'll owe you!
Shipping
- Shipping is $5 for this item.
- Allow two weeks for delivery.
- Ships in a sturdy tube.
Guarantee: If you don't love it, we will buy it back. No time limit.
The First Official Map of Texas
When a copy of Jacob De Cordova's map of Texas was put on the auction block in 2015, bidding closed at $149,000.
There are a number of reasons for the giant price.
First and foremost is it's rarity. The number of known copies can be counted on a single hand with no need for the thumb. And only one had been offered for sale in the previous fifty years.
Then there is it's importance.
It was the first map of Texas to be given the blessings of the governor and land commissioner. Not only that, it had the endorsement of Senators Rusk and Houston, plus it received a testimonial from Texas Ranger Captain Jack Hays (who was also a surveyor and knew a thing of two about making maps.)
The man responsible for the map is as interesting as the map itself.
It could even be said that Jacob De Cordova was the best cheerleader Texas ever had.
He was Jewish, born in Jamaica, and schooled in England. In 1834 he returned to Jamaica and founded the Kingston Daily Gleaner, which is still published today. By 1836 he was in New Orleans shipping much needed supplies to Texas during the struggle for independence.
In 1839 he settled in Galveston, and later moved to Houston. Within a few years he had acquired title to over a million acres and set out to attract settlers to Texas. He lectured about Texas in all the major cities back east and even crossed the Atlantic in an effort to get industrialists to invest in the Lone Star State.
In 1849, he and George Erath laid out the city of Waco, where they sold one acre town lots for five dollars.
Back to the map...
De Cordova knew an accurate map would be a valuable tool in encouraging settlement, so he commissioned surveyor Robert Creuzbaur to compile a map from the records of the General Land Office. The result, which you see here, would be the basis of most Texas maps for the next thirty years.
Sam Houston praised it on the floor of the senate and Jack Hays called it, "...the only one extant that is truly correct."
An interesting detail:
Back to the map...
De Cordova knew an accurate map would be a valuable tool in encouraging settlement, so he commissioned surveyor Robert Creuzbaur to compile a map from the records of the General Land Office. The result, which you see here, would be the basis of most Texas maps for the next thirty years.
Sam Houston praised it on the floor of the senate and Jack Hays called it, "...the only one extant that is truly correct."
An interesting detail:
I looked at this map probably a hundred times before I noticed that De Cordova had set the word "map" in the title in Hebrew. Apparently I'm not the only one. I can't find mention of this interesting detail in any of the references.
Physical Details
- 24 by 26 inches
- The choice of museums and universities when they can't display the real thing
- Printed using the best inks and the best paper
This is a fine art reproduction of the highest quality.
It is on acid free, heavyweight 100%, cotton fine-art paper with an elegant linen finish. This surface allows the inks to 'bite', reproducing the shading and tonality of the original map vividly, beautifully, and exactly.
The inks are guaranteed color-fast for 80 years, which means you won't need to shell out the extra money for UV glass. You can hang your map in direct sun and it will be just as bright when it is passed on to the next generation as it is on the day you receive it.
It's an instant heirloom. Get yours before they're gone...and get one to give to a friend. He'll owe you!
Shipping
- Shipping is $5 for this item.
- Ships within 3 business days
- Ships in a sturdy tube.
Guarantee: If you don't love it, we will buy it back. No time limit.