Mapping Texas History

Computers in the 21st century have pretty much made printed atlases and paper maps obsolete. Yet pouring through a printed atlas or examining a well-printed, large paper map offers pleasure as much tactile as visual.

Landmark Maps of Texas: The Frank and Carol Holcomb Collection, by Frank H. Holcomb, exemplifies the pleasures a well-printed map collection offers. It contains maps of Texas and the United States from 1513 to 1904. These illustrate the discovery and development of Texas over that period and put the state in context with the United States.

The book opens with three relatively short sections introducing the collection and discussing the role of maps and map-making. These sections offer chapters on six foundational maps of Texas, a discussion of its discovery and exploration, and a chapter on the shaping of modern Texas. These occupy about 45 of the book's 256 pages.

This is followed by nearly 200 pages of maps. It opens with Martin Walseemüller’s 1513 Tabula Terre Nove, a first attempt to map the newly-discovered Americas. It closes with the 1904 map “The Scarborough Company’s New Railroad, Post Office and County Map of Texas, Oklahoma, and Indian Territory,” a chromolithograph of Texas after the 1900 census. Between the two is a parade of maps demonstrating the evolution and development of both cartography and Texas.

The maps are gorgeous. There are over one hundred full-page, full-color maps accompanied by a page of explanation. The creators are a who’s-who of cartography, history, and science. Besides Walseemüller, the book includes maps drawn or commissioned by Stephen Austin, Zebulon Pike, Alexander Humboldt, Karl Baedeker, and many more.

The history presented is as impressive as the maps. The book takes readers through the discovery of the New World. It shows how Texas was explored and settled; how it changed from Terra Incognita to New Spain to Mexico, to the Republic of Texas, and to the State of Texas. It shows how Texas grew from a frontier territory to a major industrial state. Along the way, it shows how cartography evolved, showing the changes in mapmaking and map printing over 400 years.

For those interested in Texas history, especially those who appreciate cartography and its art, Landmark Maps of Texas is indispensable, a must-read book. Although attractive, it is more than a coffee-table book. It is an important reference. Even those casually interested in Texas history will be informed by it.

“Landmark Maps of Texas: The Frank and Carol Holcomb Collection,” by Frank H. Holcomb, State House Press, September 2024, 256 pages, $100.00 (Hardcover)

This review was written by Mark Lardas, who writes at Ricochet as Seawriter. Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City, TX. His website is marklardas.com.