House, William Watson (sold)
William Watson House (January 23, 1813 - August 7, 1882) was an American publisher active in Hartford, Connecticut, in the mid-19th century. House was born in Glastonbury, Connecticut, the son of a local farmer. He moved to Hartford when he was 15 to study bookbinding. Around 1847, along with J. Seymour Brown, he founded the publishing house of 'House and Brown'. The partnership was dissolved in 1857, but House continued to operate the imprint on his own account. Under House, the firm developed a very lucrative business shipping books to the southern states, becoming quite wealthy. This business was disrupted in 1861 with the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861 - 1865), when southern agents refused to pay their bills. With the decline of his publishing business, House took work as a tax collector for the IRS, establishing the tax department in Hartford. He later served as senior director of the First National Bank.
Rare map of Texas issued just before the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo.
Map of Mexico, Texas, Old and New California, and Yucatan. Showing the principal Cities and Towns, Travelling Routes and c.
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The only known example of the 1848 edition of House and Brown's broadside map of Texas, Mexico, and Upper California, issued at the end of the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1848). The map is centered on Texas, which is presented at its largest, with its western border embracing Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and the stovepipe configuration extending its northern border to 42° N latitude. The map is elaborated by inset maps of Monterey illustrating the Battle of Monterrey (September 21 - 24, 1846) and Veracruz, Mexico. In addition, the Gulf of Mexico is occupied by a large vignette view of the fortress of San Juan de Ulúa, Veracruz. In this edition, Texas is uncolored, emphasizing that it is part of the United States, but Upper California and New Mexico are colored as Mexican intendencias, suggesting this map predates the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and must therefore have been sent to the presses sometime before February 28, 1848. (more details)