The Beautiful City of Port Arthur . . . [Caption title]

San Antonio, Texas: Martin & Co, 1890. Very good. 8 5/8” x 5¾”. Single sheet, double sided handbill. Very good: discreet staple holes to corner; a few spots and faint creases; lightly toned.

This is a rare land promotional for Port Arthur, “The Deepest Water Port In Texas.”

The promotional's creators, Martin & Co., were advertising in the German language newspaper Freie Presse Fur Texas as early as 1893, and in the present ad deemed themselves “Wholesale Brokers and Emmigration [sic] Agents.” The ad offered tens of thousands of “choice acres . . . equally as faithful as the California lands,” promising “the healthiest climate in the U.S.” An enticement of the town's placement on two rivers and the Taylor Bayou: “navigable waters filled with fish and oysters; game, a paradise for sportsmen,” with the added bonus of the “Port Arthur Railway River” and “Ocean Connections” throughout the country, to Mexico, South America and Europe. The verso advertised “Special Bargains” in “farming, pasture and mineral lands” in other Texas counties, including “choice lots” in a “healthy, balmy climate” with “rich nutricious [sic] grasses, large crops annually,” for $8 an acre cash.

We found a listing in OCLC for a different promotional issued by Martin & Co. with a similar tag line and a date of 1897, but no evidence of this one. (Inventory #: 7255)