“At the turn of the twentieth century, photographic technology and an American culture of optimism and self-celebration combined to create what Luc Sante calls the ‘strange and compelling medium’ of panoramic group photography,” Princeton Architectural Press said in a statement about its new book, The Big Picture. The book is organized by sections including “Building America,” “War,” “Spectacle” and “Community,” and includes texts by a mix of cultural icons in America’s history from Yogi Berra to Arianna Huffington. Many of these never-before-published images from the early twentieth century were commissioned by organizations, and thankfully so, as they provide a panoramic view of the changes that were happening across the country. Keep in mind these panoramic images were taken before our smartphones had an app for that.