88. DE CORDOVA, Jacob. Texas: Her Resources and
Her Public Men. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1858. 375 pp.
Small 8vo, original blindstamped brown cloth, gilt.
Slightly rubbed and worn at spinal extremities, else
fine
First
edition, second issue, with the added index (first
issue came out same year). Basic Texas Books 38A:
"The first attempt at an encyclopedia of Texas, this work
contains a wealth of still-useful material....DeCordova, a
native of Jamaica...[and] one of the earliest Jewish
settlers in Texas...did some of the first genuine scholarly
research ever done in Texas while compiling the book,
interviewing leading men, researching newspaper files,
searching county court records....The volume includes
biographies, land laws, climatology, statistics, articles
on railroads, the cotton industry, sheep raising, geology,
schools, farming, slavery, churches, cattle, the lumber
industry, gambling, and other subjects." Dykes, Western
High Spots ("Western Movement—Its Literature"),
pp. 12-13. Howes D201. Rader 1097. Raines, p. 68.
($400-800)