RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS -- Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson has announced the discovery of some fantastic $20 holiday gifts in the historic Archives of the Texas General Land Office.
High quality reproductions of historic Texas maps, colorful and hand-drawn, are on sale now.
Save Texas History has reproductions of some of the earliest promotional maps of Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Galveston, San Antonio and scores of other Texas towns available for sale.
"These bird's-eye view maps were made to help attract businesses and people to settle in Texas in the 19th century," Patterson said. "They're both interesting and beautiful and I can't think of a better gift because every penny we make on these map sales helps us to preserve other historic documents."
Patterson created the Save Texas History program in 2004 to conserve historic documents and maps at the Texas General Land Office while promoting Texas history.
Bird's-eye view maps were drawn from an imagined perspective hundreds of feet above a town.
These maps were once a popular means of viewing a community as a whole.
These maps don't just show the names of the streets, but the topography of the land and important buildings that once brought people to town.
Suitable for framing, they can be purchased securely online and delivered to your doorstep.
Among the most popular are early maps of the Republic of Texas dating to the early 1840s and Stephen F. Austin's 1837 map of Texas.
Most maps are just $20.
Maps over 48 inches in size are $40.
Orders can be called in directly to the Archives and Records Division of the GLO at 1-800-998-4GLO (4456) or made online by clicking here.
Maps must be ordered by December 18 to ensure they arrive by Christmas.
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