The region first experienced European exploration and settlement beginning in the seventeenth century, with fur trappers looking to supply Europe's demand for fur. These trappers traded with indigenous populations and established small camps that would grow into towns and cities over the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Duluth became a critically important city known for its cargo shipping abilities due to its location on Lake Superior. The first official business was established in Duluth in 1808 with the American Fur Company, which German-born immigrant George Astor founded. The region attracted thousands of immigrants looking for economic opportunities in copper and iron ore mining. Produced and published by Henry Wellge, who was among one of the most prolific mapmakers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and is responsible for creating half of all bird's eye perspectives in the Library of Congress, along with five other publishers. Wellge's works bear a distinctive style and classic aesthetic that was designed to attract residents and merchants alike by featuring local businesses and civic features. Panoramic maps were created as marketing materials to attract residents. By the 1880s, Duluth was growing rapidly as advances in transportation allowed access to the North and West following the conclusion of the American Civil War. Bird's eye perspectives were not limited by the need to be used for navigation and immediately transport the viewer back in time, creating an indelible bond between the past and present. They are distinctive pieces of American cartographical history and culture.
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