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Chas. W. Pressler and A. B. Langermann. Map of the State of Texas....
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$705,000.00
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Description
Extremely Rare and Important Monumental Map of Texas by Pressler and Langermann. One of Only Three Known Copies, and the Only One Known in Private Hands
Chas. W. Pressler and A. B. Langermann. Map of the
State of Texas. Austin: General Land Office,
1879.FIRST EDITION. Folio. Lithograph map in 12 sections, each a large folded sheet (bifolia), original hand-color (full in Texas sections), Greek key border. Each bifolium 27" x 36" (68.5 x 92 cm); 108" x 108" (or 9 x 9 feet) if assembled. Bound in original half morocco and muslin-covered boards, with black gilt-lettered morocco label on upper cover. Cloth clamshell case.
Charles William Pressler immigrated to Texas from Prussia in 1846. Trained as surveyor, he moved from Galveston to Austin, where he was employed by Jacob De Cordova, who made him the head of surveying expeditions in 1846 and 1847. He checked the details of De Cordova's first map of Texas, issued in 1849. After purchasing a farm in Austin County, Pressler returned to the city of Austin in December 1850 and became a draftsman in the General Land Office. He became principal draftsman in 1858 and chief draftsman in 1865 and, except for short periods of service elsewhere, served until his retirement. Among his noteworthy mapping efforts, Pressler computed the area of the counties in Texas for De Cordova's Texas: Her Resources and Her Public Men (1858), revised and corrected De Cordova's 1856 map of Texas, and in 1858 published his own map of the state. In 1879 Pressler and Langermann issued a map of Texas in three sizes, and the present map was the largest of the Texas maps made by Pressler & Langermann in 1879. The map covers New Mexico and the Indian Territory in addition to Texas. Shown are rivers, mountainous areas, counties, cities, towns, forts, camps, roads, railroads, tracts of land owned by various railroad companies, and Indian agencies in the Indian Territory.
This map in large format is not only one of the most important maps of Texas ever printed, but also one of the rarest: no copies of the monumental large format version of the map appear in online auction records. This appears to be only one of only three known surviving copies, all but this copy in institutional collections: a heavily restored copy at the US Geological Survey, VA (formerly in the General Land Office in Austin), and a copy in the Jesse Wallace Williams Map Collection at Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, Texas.
"All of Pressler's maps represented the highest standards in cartographic excellence, incorporating the most recent information from the files of the General Land Office. Along with De Cordova maps, Pressler's maps can be regarded as the first truly accurate maps of the state because of the actual surveys which had been accomplished. By the time of the 1879 publication, most of the Texas counties had reached their present size and shape, and railroads and roads had added greatly to the responsibilities of the mapmakers. Pressler...record[ed] the greatest era of change in Texas history" (Martin & Martin, Contours of Discovery, pp. 57-58).
Condition: Binding somewhat worn and with some staining, one map professionally cleaned and reinforced in places and with some residual discoloration on verso, some minor marginal toning or wear, all maps reinserted in binding on new stubs, with some slight toning at gutters, some minor occasional offsetting and marginal finger-soiling. Overall the map sections are very good to fine. A uniquely superior copy of a virtually unobtainable map of Texas.
References: See Phillips, America, p. 848 (the reduced Pocket Map version).
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: 3
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 2,840
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