Details: **Bird's Eye View of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893**
Before we learned to fly, the world could only be seen from street view. In the mid-19th century, however, cartographers got creative and began documenting majorcities from an uncommon perspective: the bird's eye view. Rendering cities in a artistically condensed, not-to-scale style, the aim was to capture the street layout, landscape, and to give the public a chance to finally see the bigger picture.
Also known as aerial views or perspective maps, these lithographs began being published as a vehicle for advertisement and local promotion, as well as supplementing major atlases. An artist would have drawn each location from topographic elevation or by hot air balloon. Often these cities were in their formative years, allowing someone to truly "see their house from here!"
From the once farmable Los Angeles to the (dare we say) tranquil NYC, these maps remind us of what once was and what has become of our country’s most recognizable and endearing locations.
DIMENSIONS: - 14 x 18
