American Memory:  Technical summary

Panoramic maps
URL http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/pmhtml/panhome.html

Collection Overview

Description
The panoramic map was a popular cartographic form used to depict U.S. and Canadian cities and towns during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Known also as bird's-eye views, perspective maps, and aero views, panoramic maps are nonphotographic representations of cities portrayed as if viewed from above at an oblique angle. Although not generally drawn to scale, they show street patterns, individual buildings, and major landscape features in perspective. The bulk of the U.S. and Canadian cities documented in this grouping were done by Albert Ruger, Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler, Lucien R. Burleigh, Henry Wellge, and Oakley H. Bailey who prepared more than fifty-five percent of this set.
Source collection
Grouping described in the book Panoramic Maps of Cities in the United States and Canada, second edition (1984), by John R. Hebert and Patrick E. Dempsey.
LCCN for book: 82-600316 [Link to catalog record (z39.50 query) will not work when main cataloging system is not available.] .
Technical features
High resolution color images of bird's-eye maps; combine pictorial and cartographic aesthetic.
Original material formats
Number of original items
ca. 1,000 (final), ca. 600 in December 1997, items added each month.
Status of collection
Available online.
Public access
The Library is not aware of any restrictions that inhibit public access to items in this collection. See notes on rights and restrictions provided by the Library to users of this collection.

Aids to intellectual access

Type & granularity
MARC bibliographic records. Each bib. record describes a single item.
Sample bibliographic display in American Memory.
Linking to digital reproductions
Bibliographic record contains identifier used in filenames for all versions of image.

Digital reproductions

Total file-space for digital reproductions: 500 Gbytes (estimated final).

Maps Archival image Service image Inline thumbnail
Marker Filename extension ".tif" Filename extension ".sid" Filename extension ".gif"
Formats TIFF uncompressed MrSID ( LizardTech
wavelet compression)
GIF
Tonal resolution 24 bit 24 bit 8 bit
Spatial resolution (approx) 300 dpi 300 dpi 200x150 pixels
Quantity (approx) 1,000 1,000 1,000
File size 100-250 Mbytes 3-9 Mbytes 8-15 Kbytes
Sample Sample archival Sample MrSID Sample thumbnail

Library of Congress contribution to Digital Libraries Initiative - Phase II [Site Map]
Collections available: [List] [Rights] [Samples] [Handover]
Technical notes: [Documents] [Images] [Maps] [Sound Recordings] [Motion Pictures]