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J. Eppinger and F. C. Baker. Map of Texas, ...
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Description
First Edition of this Very Rare and Important Pocket Map
J. Eppinger and F. C. Baker. Map of Texas,
Compiled from surveys recorded in the General Land Office.
N.p., 1851.Hand-colored lithographed map printed on onionskin paper, folding into original 12mo green cloth case, stamped in gilt and blind. Map sheet: 30.75" x 24.25" (unfolded). Inset map: "Map of New Mexico, California, and Utah." Housed in a modern quarter morocco slipcase.
FIRST EDITION of this very rare and important pocket map. Eppinger & Baker's map was one of the first commercial pocket maps of Texas to appear after the more famous (and less rare) map of Texas by Jacob De Cordova of 1849. It is based on information compiled by the General Land Office of Texas. It includes all Texas Counties created up to 1849 as well as some of the 1850 additions such as Wood, Freestone, Uvalde, and Kinney counties. The map shows rivers, creeks, and such topographical features as Comanche Peak and the Cross Timbers as well as towns, settlements, and roads as they existed before the construction of railroads. Battlefields of the recent U.S. War with Mexico and the Texas War of Independence appear in south Texas and across the border in northern Mexico. It shows the more established counties in the east, and West Texas appears on a reduced scale in the inset at lower right entitled, "Map of New Mexico, California, and Utah." A second issue dated 1852 was published the following year.
John Eppinger and Francis C. Baker both lived and worked in Jefferson, which at that time was part of Cass County in far northeast Texas. Eppinger was a young lawyer born in Georgia and Baker was born in Indiana. Both men separately produced plans of Jefferson that were later lithographed and distributed. In late April 1848 Eppinger and Francis Baker along with a relative, J. D. Baker, announced that they were leaving Jefferson with the intention of conducting a "scientific exploration of Texas" and creating a map after "visiting every county in the state". In the same article, they also left a detailed list of the scientific instruments they intended to bring along. More details of this exploration are not known. Unfortunately, in November 1850 Eppinger was killed in a hunting accident. Baker returned to Jefferson where he continued to work as a newspaperman, promoting a southern route for the transcontinental railroad.
Very rare: Only one copy of the 1851 issue is recorded in auction online sales, and that copy was without its original case. The only other sales record available for the 1851 edition is an Eberstadt listing in 1963 with a sales price of $250 (with boards).
Condition: Cloth case lightly rubbed. Map with some light toning on one section where attached to lower cover, with some slight adhesive show-through, a few tiny separations at fold intersections, some occasional mild toning at fold creases, otherwise fine. An overall fine copy with colors very bright and fresh, in its original cloth case.
References: Phillips, America, p. 844.
Provenance: B. F. Howell, early ownership name lettered on inside cover of the case.
Auction Info
2023 December 2 The Ted Lusher Texas History Collection, Part One Signature® Auction #6281 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
December, 2023
2nd
Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 4
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
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