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This detailed and colorful map of Texas, produced in 1874, was specifically prepared for J. M. Morphis's rare History of Texas. The map highlights the counties with distinct hand-coloring, making it an excellent example of mid-19th-century American cartography.
The map features several insets including plans of the Northern Part of Panhandle Texas, Matagorda Bay, Texas as it was in 1835, Galveston Bay, and Sabine Lake.
The intricate vine border and the precise engraving work by Geo. W. & C. B. Colton & Co. enhance the map’s aesthetic appeal. This map is an invaluable resource for understanding the geographical and political landscape of Texas during the Reconstruction era.
G. W. & C. B. Colton was a prominent family firm of mapmakers who were leaders in the American map trade in the nineteenth century. The business was founded by Joseph Hutchins Colton (1800-1893) who bought copyrights to existing maps and oversaw their production. By the 1850s, their output had expanded to include original maps, guidebooks, atlases, and railroad maps. Joseph was succeeded by his sons, George Woolworth (1827-1901) and Charles B. Colton (1831-1916). The firm was renamed G. W. & C. B. Colton as a result. George is thought responsible for their best-known work, the General Atlas, originally published under that title in 1857. In 1898, the brothers merged their business and the firm became Colton, Ohman, & Co., which operated until 1901, when August R. Ohman took on the business alone and dropped the Colton name.
