Printed and Manuscript Americana

New-York: Published by Wiley & Putnam, 1838. First edition. 12mo. 215 pp. Illustrated with folding lithographic frontispiece map of Texas by Baker. Publisher's brown cloth-covered boards, decorated in blind and in gilt, spine expertly repaired, light soiling to boards; all edges trimmed; bookseller's ticket on front paste-down (W.A. Leary's, Philadelphia); foxing to endpapers; light to moderate foxing to map and text; short dampstaining along bottom edge of most leaves. Basic Texas Books 151; Clark III:215; Graf 3010; Howes N-115; Sabin 54948; Streeter, Texas 1318

First edition of one of the earliest and scarcest books on the Texas Republic, in the original publisher's binding with an important early map.

"This is one of the earliest books published about Texas after it became a republic...the quotations from participants are of considerable historical value. The descriptive portions add much to our knowledge of the early republic" (Jenkins). Newell begins his narrative in 1832, and ends with the proceedings of the Texas Congress in the fall of 1836. The author had come to Texas as an itinerant minister in the spring of 1837, but quickly became engaged in working on this history in an effort to defray his expenses. He had the advantage of
being able to interview some of the leading Texan participants, including Samuel Houston. The appendix details some important historical documents regarding the revolution.

Streeter notes two states of the map, one with no date, simply titled "Texas", and the other titled "Texas 1838". The copy in the present work is in the dated second state. The map shows the area from New Orleans westwards to about 102 degrees longitude, and south to the Rio Grande. There is considerable detail devoted to the settlements from Goliad north to Austin, and then east to Liberty.