This first edition monumental map of Texas, one of just three known to exist and the only one in private hands was published in 1879 by Chas. W. Pressler and A.B. Langermann. It led the sale at $705,000 and set a record for the most expensive map of Texas ever sold at auction.
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy Heritage Auctions
DALLAS — Over four decades, Austin businessman Ted Lusher assembled one of the most storied collections of Texas history imaginable. In late November, Texas Monthly described his curated assemblage as “A Treasure Trove of Texas History”; Heritage sold part one of his collection on Saturday, December 2. Approximately 300 collectors vied for his collection both in the room and online; by the time the 166-lot sale ended, several auction records were set in a sale that, at press time, had achieved a total of $2,654,607.
Steve Ivy, Heritage’s co-chairman and chief executive officer, says, “In assembling this world-class collection, Ted Lusher had a connoisseur’s eye, a drive to succeed, an unbounded intellectual curiosity and the resources to bring the three together. We couldn’t be prouder to bring this wonderful collection to market.”
Lusher chose Heritage because he hoped these treasures would remain in his home state — and, indeed, most of this collection found new homes throughout Texas.
“The auction confirms exactly what I thought about this special place we call Texas,” says Lusher, a Kansas City native who has long called Austin home, where much of his collection has been displayed at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. “It underscores the fact that people do have a respect for those who came before, and there is a commitment to learn about and carry on their history and knowledge.”
Francis Moore, Jr’s 1840 Map and Description of Texas, which was a rare first edition of an important emigrant’s guide to the state, was another rarity as one of just three complete recorded copies. It closed at $519,000, the second highest price of the day.
The auction’s top lot was Charles William Pressler and A.B. Langermann’s 1879 Map of the State of Texas, which is among the most significant maps of Texas ever printed and one of the rarest, as there are but three known copies, with this the sole copy in a private collection. Regarded as the first truly accurate map of Texas, it sold for $705,000. It now holds the record for the most expensive Texas map ever realized at auction.
Another record was set by Houston’s second mayor, Francis Moore, whose 1840 Map and Description of Texas served as the first guidebook for newcomers to the fledgling Republic of Texas, which wouldn’t become a state for another five years. It contains Stephen F. Austin’s 1840 full-color map of the Republic, and is illustrated with eyewitness scenes of Texas, including the earliest-known view of the fallen Alamo. Another rarity, it is also just one of only three recorded copies of this scarce first edition that realized $519,000, a new auction record for this vital emigrant guide to Texas. This copy belonged in 1844 to a man named Levi Lewis, who was among the earliest settlers of Bexar County.
Collectors also vied for Austin’s 1846 Map of Texas, the most complete version of the general’s legendary map, as it was the final edition to contain geographical revisions. The map that realized $118,750 was the first — and only — edition issued after Texas’ statehood and remains among the most authoritative primary documents recording the history of Texas. All of Austin’s maps, rich in detail and accurate where so many others were imprecise, were so popular their buyers heavily used them; hence the reason all editions are now rare, chief among them this masterwork, where the state’s oft-foreboding landscape was shown to be “as inviting as possible,” notes the catalog.
Stephen F. Austin’s 1846 Map of Texas was the final edition to contain geographical revisions and the most complete version of his map. It rounded out the top three results at $118,750.
Thomas Gay’s March 1836 broadside announcing the fall of the Alamo was another of the auction’s top lots, and deservedly so, as this document informed Texians that the Alamo had fallen. Gay wrote to the people of Texas, “I have just received information by Col. William T. Austin of the fall of the Alimo [sic].” Lusher believes this is the sole surviving copy in private hands of the broadsheet — and it, too, will stay in Texas.
For those who prefer maps less monumental, a first edition pocket map of Texas, published by J. Eppinger and F.C. Baker in 1851, was housed in a modern quarter Moroccan slipcase and brought $75,000. It was one of the first commercial pocket maps of Texas to appear after the more famous — and less rare — map of Texas by Jacob De Cordova of 1849.
An unusual and likely unique archive of nearly 100 letters and orders regarding the prisoners from the 1842 Mier Expedition, which is widely considered among the most disastrous of the raiding expeditions from Texas into Mexico. The archive was snapped up for $45,000.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.
