"Detroit's origins as a French outpost make it older than many other cities of eastern North America, despite its inland location. A vivid iconographic record survives for early Detroit, created by those who studied the city for military or commercial purposes. These pictures and maps are tantalizing windows into the past of this colonial metropolis of the Great Lakes during its French, British, and early American periods." "Frontier Metropolis illustrates and describes all known images of Detroit in the pre-photographic era - from its founding in 1701 to 1838 - to provide a nearly complete visual chronology made by people who knew the city. Brian Leigh Dunnigan has arranged these maps, plans, and views to show the evolution of Detroit and its community life over its first 137 years."--Jacket.

"Detroit's origins as a French outpost make it older than many other cities of eastern North America, despite its inland location. A vivid iconographic record survives for early Detroit, created by those who studied the city for military or commercial purposes. These pictures and maps are tantalizing windows into the past of this colonial metropolis of the Great Lakes during its French, British, and early American periods.".

"Frontier Metropolis illustrates and describes all known images of Detroit in the pre-photographic era - from its founding in 1701 to 1838 - to provide a nearly complete visual chronology made by people who knew the city. Brian Leigh Dunnigan has arranged these maps, plans, and views to show the evolution of Detroit and its community life over its first 137 years."--BOOK JACKET.