The biggest and most expensive world atlas in publishing history has gone on show to the public. The limited-edition Earth weighs in at more than 66lbs and carries a price-tag of £2,000, putting it at the luxury end of the Christmas present market.
Dubbed the ‘ultimate book about our world’, the atlas was unveiled at the Northamptonshire home of cartography company, Global Mapping. The launch had a conservation theme with the presence of television presenter, botanist and environmental campaigner David Bellamy OBE, who wrote the foreword to the atlas.
Mr Bellamy said: ‘It is a fantastic production. The book shows that we live in a wonderful world and serves as a reminder that we must stop trashing our soils, rivers and fisheries. If we don’t, what are we going to hand on to our children?
‘The atlas presents a detailed picture of what our planet’s natural beauty could continue to look like. It tells me that nations should speak peace and conservation to each other.’ Earth is hand-bound in leather with gilded edges and silver-plated corners. It has 355 maps across its 580 pages with text complemented by more than 800 carefully selected photos.
The atlas is the brainchild of Australian publisher Gordon Cheers who had a 20-year dream to create a book that would become a lasting time capsule of the planet. Earth is expected to appeal to collectors, libraries, investors, map enthusiasts and armchair travellers. The print run is only 3,000 copies with just 200 earmarked for the UK.
Alan Smith of Global Mapping worked on the project for two years with more than 100 map makers across the world. He said Earth was deliberately designed as a celebration of publishing at a time when the craft of hand binding is disappearing.
Mr Smith said: ‘You can of course find all kinds of geographic information on the web but we hope people will enjoy this exquisite atlas for its own sake for generations to come. Its beauty and unprecedented level of detail make it the ultimate book about our world.’
Earth can be ordered from Global Mapping’s online shop, www.mapstop.co.uk.
