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HOUSTOUN, Matilda Charlotte (1815?-1892)
Texas and the Gulf of Mexico; or Yachting in the New World
London: [printed by W. Nicol for] John Murray, 1844. 2 volumes, octavo (signed in 12s) (8 x 5 inches). Collation: [A]4, B-O12, P1; [A]4, B-Q12 + 16pp. of publisher's advertisements dated 'August 1845' at end of vol.II. 10 plates (7 lithographs by Day & Haghe [2 portraits and 5 views,] 3 wood-engraved plates [2 of these signed 'SW']). Original dark blue cloth, the flat spines with blocked decoration in blind dividing them into five compartments, blocked lettering in gilt in the second and four compartments, in addition the place of publication and publisher's name blocked in gilt at the foot of each spine, the covers with blocked Greek-key border in blind and large central vignette in blind of the 'Dolphin' under full sail, cream glazed endpapers, spines slightly faded, extremities slightly bumped.
A very fine set of the first edition of this important early account of Texas
The author was a wealthy English woman who visited Texas in 1842 on board the 'Dolphin,' her husband's private yacht. She visited New Orleans, then cruised off the Gulf Coast, alternating between Texas and New Orleans. Mrs. Houstoun offers commentary on the politics and society of the day, including issues such as slavery and a possible civil war.
'She gives us some exceptional insights into Texas of the 1840's' (Jenkins,) whilst still being unable to escape from the feelings of superiority that, at the time, were almost an English birthright: 'I had always supposed that all kinds of cotton and woollen goods, besides the iron ware, were imported into America from England. To my great surprise, however, I found that nearly every thing of this kind that we saw was of native manufacture, and that the prices of them were no higher than in England' (vol.II, p.61.)
The lithographs are included in Holman and Tyler's preliminary research on 19th-century Texas lithography. They include portraits of General Santa Anna and President Houston and views of the city of Galveston, Funchal in Madeira, the city of Houston, Havana harbour and ending with a night-time view of the Plaza des Armas in Havana. All are wonderfully executed by the British firm of Day & Haghe, lithographers to the Crown. The "alpine" Houston view, while apocryphal, may be the first published view of the city, and the prototype for subsequent views showing the city in the midst of mountains. In addition, there is a fine wood-engraved vignette view of the 'Dolphin Yacht in the Mississippi' and two beautifully observed wood-engraved character studies, the first of 'Nancy, the Black Woman', the second of a 'New Orleans black dandy'. One of the more charming accounts of the Republic of Texas, and other than that of Mrs. Holley, the only one by a woman.
Basic Texas Books 97; Clark III:182; Howes H693, "aa."; Raines, p.120; Sabin 33202; cf. Servies 3044 (abridged American ed); Streeter Texas 1506.
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#19246 $4,750.00 
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© 2002-2005 Donald A. Heald
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