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.
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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.
2 comments:
Yes, the panoramic maps can be really pretty! I have a couple of U.S.panoramic maps hanging on my wall as a decoration and I love looking at them.
These really are pieces of art, but even more interesting as you usually have some connection to the place your map is of. When my family moved across the United States, 9 years ago while my daughters were still small, to a small town we saw our first birds eye view map of our new home town. It was a real treat. The girls and I could see where things were in relation to other things that we knew were there.
Then we saw a panoramic map of the same area made 100 years ago and it was fascinating to us to see what used to be there and what things were still here! And we really gained an appreciation for USA Cartography.
It really helped my girls take to their new home by giving them a true picture of that town. They were so beautiful and such conversation starters that we searched for one for years. But, sadly for us there were no more of the old time ones that we wanted.
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