
The Library of Congress is the best place to start learning about panoramic maps. Henry Wellge, Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler, Oakley H. Bailey, Albert Ruger, and Lucien R. Burleigh, some of the most well-known American panoramic artists, created more than half of the 1,500 maps exhibited there. They also have Camille N. Dry’s Pictorial St. Louis; The Great Metropolis of the Mississippi Valley, which she created in 1875. It is the largest panoramic map ever published at 9 by 24 feet.
As from the Civil War and headed into the Victorian Era, new industry made cities flourish. Chambers of commerce in growing cities were the major market for the maps where they became real estate and early economic development marketing tools. But, plenty of private citizens had them hanging over their mantles, as well. For a price, most panoramic map artists would include private homes in their cityscapes.