New Map of the State of Texas Compiled from J. De Cordova's large Map. by TEXAS) - Copyright 1855. [ 1856].

New York.: J. H. Colton & Co.. Copyright 1855. [ 1856].. Hand-colored map on sheet size 18 1/2 x 29 inches with central vertical fold. Light toning to margins, overall very good condition. Accompanying the map is a full page text 18 1/2 x 31 inches titled "The State of Texas." There are three inset maps: "Plan of the Northern Part of Texas"; "Plan of Galveston Bay"; "Plan of Sabine Lake." An uncommon edition of this impressive map of Texas. The map is dated along bottom edge below Sabine Lake inset; the last two numerals are not fully formed but appear to establish an 1855 date; this issue was published in Colton's Atlas of the World in 1857. The map is distinguished from later editions by two text blocks, one straddling the fold at the bottom of map titled "Explanations," with images and varying fonts identifying "Railroads," "Common Roads," "Cities," "County Towns," etc. The other appears at the top of the map to the eastern boundary of New Mexico. It reads: "Note: From the head waters of the Red Brazos and Colorado Rivers to the Rio Pecos is a desolate and sterile plain from 100 to 200 miles in width, elevated about 4500 feet above the Gulf of Mexico, without water or timber and with a scanty vegetation." The land speculator Jacob De Cordova was hired by the Texas General Land Office to compile a map for promotional purposes; it was first published in 1849, with subsequent editions revised to show new counties, public lands, settlements, etc. De Cordova's map was the basis for this early Colton map. .