Collectors' Gallery: The Frank and Carol Holcomb Map Collection

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Private collectors are integral to the preservation of history. Their dedication to collecting historical maps, documents, artifacts, and works of art ensures that the material evidence of the past is safeguarded for future generations. The Collectors' Gallery showcases the passion behind privately owned collections in Texas, featuring some of the finest treasures in the state. 

Inside the Exhibition

The Frank and Carol Holcomb Map Collection

The Frank and Carol Holcomb Map Collection consists primarily of Texas maps spanning from 1513 to 1904. With an emphasis on color and rarity, the maps are both art and historical images. All maps in the collection include the area that would become Texas, whether part of an undefined frontier on the North American continent, or the current boundaries. This exhibition focuses on landmark maps of Texas from 1646 to 1874, with the bulk of material showing the explosive growth of the region from 1830 to 1851, when Texas sovereignty changed three times in only 21 years.

In 2014, the Holcomb Collection was digitized by the Texas General Land Office with the intent that the collection be made available to the public.

Select Artifacts on View

October 17, 2020 - April 4, 2021

• America divided according to the extent of its principal parts by Nicolas de Fer, 1713
• New Map of the South Sea by Henry de Leth, 1730
• A General Map of North America by John Rocque, 1761

Select Artifacts on View

November 23, 2019 - August 2, 2020

• A map of Mexico from 1828 by White, Gallaher, and White
• Two maps of Texas by David Burr
• Jacob de Cordova's 1849 map of Texas
• Two maps of Texas by Stephen F. Austin

 

Banner image credit New Map of the South Sea [Carte Nouvelle de la Mer du Sud] by Henry de Leth, published in Amsterdam, 1730

The Bullock Texas State History Museum is a division of the Texas State Preservation Board. Additional support for educational programming provided by the Texas State History Museum Foundation.