{"product_id":"birds-eye-views-historic-lithographs-of-north-american-cities-9781568981468","title":"Bird's Eye Views: Historic Lithographs of North American Cities","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs new towns and cities spread across the American frontier in the nineteenth century  itinerant artists soon followed  documenting these growing urban centers by drawing aerial perspectives  also known as birds eye views. Commissioned by land speculators  local businesses  civic organizations  and individual citizens  these renderings fostered both civic pride and local commerce. The use of color lithography  a recent invention popularized by such prominent publishers as Currier \u0026amp; Ives  allowed the inexpensive reproduction of the highest-quality drawings  so that a birds eye view was within the financial budget of even the smallest towns. These extraordinarily detailed lithographs eventually numbered in the thousands and now serve as a rich pictorial record of North America as it stood a century ago. This sequel to our highly acclaimed title An Atlas of Rare City Maps collects over 100 views dating between 1835 and 1902  showing the streets  buildings  churches  bridges  waterways  and surrounding countryside of North American towns  ranging from burgeoning metropolitan centers to small logging towns and mining camps. Baltimore  Brooklyn  Denver  Indianapolis  Memphis  Montreal  New Orleans  Pittsburgh  Seattle  Syracuse  and Washington are just a few of the cities presented in this collection. The exquisite color and fine detail of these birds eye views have been reproduced in all their original glory; also included is an introduction by John W. Reps providing a background on the artistic process and on urban development in the nineteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45280466894901,"sku":"ByrdShop_1568981465","price":49.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781568981468.jpg?v=1780637616","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/birds-eye-views-historic-lithographs-of-north-american-cities-9781568981468","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}