DALLAS — Charles William Pressler and A.B. Langermann’s 1879 map of Texas is known as the first truly accurate map of the state and there are only three known copies.
One of the copies was part of Ted Lusher's collection and is the only copy of the map that's in a private collection.
It sold at auction last weekend for more than $700,000.
Lusher's Texas history collection is one of the most storied imaginable. About 300 collectors spent Saturday at Heritage Auctions' world headquarters in Dallas bidding on items from the treasure trove.
While the 1879 map was the most expensive item, there were more than 160 other items for collectors to bid on.
By the time the auction ended, more than $2.6 million was spent on Lusher's items.
"The auction confirms exactly what I thought about this special place we call Texas," Lusher, a Kansas City native who has long called Austin home, said. "It underscores the fact that people do have a respect for those who came before, and there is a commitment to learn about and carry on their history and knowledge."
Much of Lusher's collection has been displayed at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. When he chose to sell, he wanted his treasures to remain in the state.
Also sold at the auction was one of only three recorded copies of an 1840 map and description of Texas by Francis Moore Jr., Houston's first mayor. The copy, which belonged to Levi Lewis in 1844, sold for $519,000. It contains Stephen F. Austin’s 1840 full-color map of the Republic and is illustrated with eyewitness scenes of Texas, including the earliest-known view of the Alamo, according to Heritage Auctions.
Lewis was among the earliest settlers of Bexar County.
Click here for more information about the items sold at the auction.