From its very beginning as a vague idea in the minds of Spanish explorers, Texas has always possessed the power to intrigue. To the first Spanish explorers, it was the land where friendly Indian tribes dwelled, now east Texas.

In the 1820s and 30s, potential settlers from Europe and the U.S. watched for maps and descriptions of this new land of promise, their imaginations fueled by such descriptions of the new land as this one by Stephen F. Austin's cousin, Mary Austin Holley, after an 1831 trip to Texas:

It would seem as if enchantment had, indeed, thrown its spell over their (visitors) minds…… all who return from this fairyland are perfect enthusiasts in their admiration of it.

And they were even more eager for news of this "promised land" as she wrote:

" a new island, as it were, has been discovered......... apparently fresh from the hands of its Maker, and adapted, beyond most lands, both to delight the senses and enrich the pockets, of those of are disposed to accept of its bounties."

The rapid transformation of Texas from a few land grants to a republic to statehood to the site of the dispute with Mexico helped generate a wealth of maps and documents prized for their part in the history of Texas. WGA III of Houston features an outstanding selection of Texas maps and documents. Following is a sample of our inventory. If you'd like to ask about any particular map, or speak with someone about our full inventory, we'd love to hear from you. We welcome any of your questions about Texas maps or Texas history. E-mail us at Aradertexana@gkg.net or phone 713-621-7151

Check back often as we will be updating this page periodically.

click on image for full size and description
* denotes maps which were among the six selected by Thomas Winthrop Streeter in his
Bibliography of Texas (1795-1845), as the most significant in the history of Texas.

Original Manuscript Plan for a Presidio in San Antonio de Bexar. 1722
**SOLD**
...Durango haste San Antonio y desde Chihuaha por el paso de Sto. Domingo... by Josep de la Barcanda. Manuscript map: sepia ink and watercolor wash on vellum. 10.25” x 13.5”, Durango, 1778
* Carta Particular de las Costas Setentrionales del Seno Mexicano que comprehende las de la Florida Ocidental Las Margenes de la Luisiana ......" Direction de Hidrografia, Madrid, Spain, 1807

* Carte Generale du Royaume de la Nouvelle Espagne.....
Alexander von Humboldt, 1809. 44.5 " x 33.5"

**SOLD**
Map of Mexico, Louisiana and the Missouri Territory
John Hamilton Robinson, Washington, 1819. 66.5" x 76.8"
**SOLD**

A New Map of Mexico and Adjacent Provinces by Aaron Arrowsmith. Four sheets, each 26" x 32", London 1810

**SOLD**

* Texas by David H. Burr
Published by J.H. Colton & Co., New York 1833. 18.5" x 22"
This copy appears to be an unrecorded state.
**SOLD**
First printed form of An Act Organizing the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas...
**SOLD**
A New Map of Texas with the Contiguous American and Mexican States by J. H. Young. Published in Philadelphia in 1836 by S. Augustus Mitchell. Hand-colored and engraved on onion-skin paper. Scale one inch equals approximately 72 miles.
**SOLD**
Mapa de los Estados Unidos Mejicanos arreglardo a la distribucien que in diversos ha heche del territorio el Congreso General Mejicano. Rosa, Publisher, at Gran Patio del Palacio Real, Rue Calle de Montpensier No. 5. Paris, 1837

* Gen. Austin's Map of Texas with Parts of the Adjoining States compiled by Stephen F. Austin. Published in Philadelphia by H. S. Tanner, 1839.

**SOLD**
Nouvelle Carte du Mexique du Texas Et D’une Partie Des Etats Limitrophes
A. H. Brue, Paris, 1840. 38” x 26”.

Map of Texas compiled from Surveys recorded in the Land Office of Texas...
John Arrowsmith, London 1841

**SOLD**
A Map of the Republic of Texas and the Adjacent Territories...
C. F., Cheffins, London, 1841. Uncoloured.

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