Americana is always a popular area of collectibles, as the US has a keen sense of its history, but some states are so big that they have their own history.
With that in mind an auction house has decided to hold a sale devoted exclusively to Texana - the collectibles and memorabilia of Texas.
One of the lots which best captures the spirit of this event is Jacob de Cordova's Map of Texas.
 The cover to Jacob de Cordova's Texas map |
Jacob de Cordova had an unusual identity: he was a Jamaican Jew who settled in Texas and could speak English, French, German, Spanish, Hebrew, and several Indian languages fluently.
De Cordova helped supply the Texas Revolution before settling there in 1837. Briefly a member of the House of Representatives (1847-9), he made himself a rich, landowning merchant in the state and used pamphlets to promote tourism and immigration.
 The map itself - still beautifully preserved |
No doubt a copy of de Cordova's map would have been invaluable to any newcomer to the state.
The large hand-coloured lithograph map shows counties, rivers and roads, as well as cities, towns and Indian villages. It is very thorough, indeed the Governor of Texas Sam Houston gave a speech praising the 1849 edition of the map at the US Senate, saying it was "the most correct and authentic map of Texas ever compiled".
The map is held in the original brown, blind and gilt stamped cloth covers. These are quite worn, but the map itself is very well preserved and offered at $40,000-50,000 in the March 3 auction which takes place in Houston, Texas. It is a genuine treasure for any proud Lone Star state collector.
