This rare and anonymous map depicting the Provincia de Texas appears to be a precursor to Carey & Lea's map of Mexico published in A Complete Historical, Chronological, and Geographical American Atlas with fewer place names and notations, and a couple inches shorter in height. It is based largely on Humboldt's important map (1811) and was likely published prior to Stephen Austin's arrival in Texas. The settled parts of Texas are primarily along the Rio Grande, with the only settlements north of the Nueces River being Nacogdoches, Galveston (curiously referred to as Galverton), and Acalita de Bejar or St. Antonio. An unusual feature of this map is the southerly flow of three rivers - the Trinity, Brazos and Colorado, whose headwaters are noted as the "Rio Colorado or the Brassos." The map identifies the El Camino Real linking Natchitoches to Mexico City, the Santa Fe Trail, and bands of Comanches and Apaches in West Texas. The northern portion of the map covers the little-known parts of present-day Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico and shows several fictitious geographic features in the Great Basin. The map further identifies topographic features, mines, presidios, and additional Native American tribes primarily in present-day Arizona. We found no past sales records for this map in the last 30 years and no institutional examples.

The Holcomb and Rumsey references are for a later edition with additional place names and other minor updates. The Rumsey example was bound in an 1824 John Thomson atlas, though it appears to be inserted and not as issued (the map title is penciled in on title page).

References: cf. Holcomb (TX) pp. 140-41; cf. Rumsey #2713.066.

Condition: B+

A crisp impression with a few faint spots. There are professional repairs to a 3.5" and 0.5" edge tear at top.