David H. Burr, The State of Texas, New York: R.S. Fisher, 1845, Map #93870, Holcomb Digital Map Collection, Archives and Records Program, Texas General Land Office, Austin, TX.

The State of Texas, 1845

David H. Burr’s Map of Texas is one of Texas bibliographer Thomas W. Streeter’s six most important for any Texas cartographic collection.

The first state of this map is the first large scale map to show the entirety of Texas to the Arkansas River.

Detail of the title block of David Burr’s Map of The State of Texas.

This map has been described as “one of the landmarks of Texas cartography, and one of the most important maps in Texas history.”

Burr’s Map of Texas was published in five editions: 1833, 1834, 1835, 1845, and 1846.

Detail of a map key and distance chart.

This particular map is the fourth edition and features several improvements not found previously.

Notice how counties were added on top of original Empresario grants.

One such improvement is a key delineating state lines, county lines, patent lines, roads, and distances between important locations. Additionally, several new counties are shown superimposed over old Empresario grants.

Detail of the manuscript lines that were added by the previous owner of this map, presumably John C. Ernenputsch, who had an interest in land development in Texas.

Noticeable are five manuscript lines underlining places of interest, along with an area of land outlined in orange, highlighting lands offered “for sale” by the Galveston Bay Company. These lands were of interest to a previous owner of this map, John C. Ernenputsch, a German businessman based in New York.

Documents detailing some of the landholdings and transactions in Texas of Ernenputsch can be viewed on the GLO website.

A reproduction of this map can be purchased on the GLO website.

This map is part of the Holcomb Digital Map Collection.