Levi Walter Yaggy’s Geographical Study was published way back in 1887, and is still beloved by geographers and historians alike. The massive published work took the form factor of a large wood and leather portfolio, with fold-out pages that were 3 feet wide, and 2 feet tall.
Inside, Yaggy created stunning illustrations of our planet’s various temperate zones, as well as geological charts, planetary charts, and more. All of it created in the late 1800s, when we were still understanding the basic geologic forces that control our world.
It’s a fascinating look at the diversity of our world from 150 years ago.
“Some of “Yaggy’s maps”, as they were usually called, are straightforward two-dimensional posters, but others feature elaborate cutaways and intricate layers. “Physical Geography”, for instance, presents as a bucolic orb of rivers and fields, with an erupting volcano in the corner.
By adjusting riveted metal tabs, this scene falls away, and a new view is revealed underneath, showing all variety of subterranean human activity: Venetian grottoes; a cave in Kentucky; quartz, salt, and coal mines.”
