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CROSSROADS OF EMPIRE
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Early Printed Maps of Texas and the Southwest
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Crossroads of Empire: Early Printed Maps of Texas and the Southwest premiered in 1981 as the first exhibition to explore the cartography of the American Southwest. It was produced by the Amon Carter Museum, in Fort Worth, in collaboration with the Cartographic History Library at the University of Texas at Arlington Library. It included the earliest known map to outline the Gulf of Mexico, Martin Waldseemueller's 1513 chart of the area, as well as late 19th century railroad surveys. In between were some of the most important maps ever produced of the region. These maps showed how the region was sometimes accurately pictured, and how some outstanding misconceptions-like the notion that California was an island-were handed down through generations of map makers. Also included was the first map to use a form of the word Texas, Guillaume Delisle's landmark map of French Louisiana in 1718, and the 1847 map of the Southwest by John Disturnell, which was used to establish the boundary between Mexico and the United States. This electronic version is based on a traveling show of photo-and-text panels organized by the Texas Council for the Humanities Resource Center. The exhibit and essay were developed by Michael Duty, who served as publicist for the exhibition at the Amon Carter Museum, Ft. Worth |