Jacob De Cordova's Map of the State of Texas

Jacob De Cordova came to Texas in 1837 and quickly became one of the new Republic’s key promoters.  He was responsible for a number of influential pamphlets and guidebooks, and most famously, the first (1849) edition of his eponymous map.  Hoping to cash in on the expected land boom following the Mexican War, De Cordova commissioned Robert Creuzbaur, an employee of the Texas General Land Office to compile the 1849 edition from the agency’s records.  The result is this very detailed and accurate map, here in its 5th Colton state.   De Cordova published the map in Houston about five times between 1849 and 1854, and in 1855 Colton bought the map from De Cordova, and republished in New York on another five occasions. This issue is the first to be released after the Civil War and incorporates additional information in the western parts of Texas, as people poured out of the Southern States into Texas to establish new lives.