National Library of New Zealand Acquires Copy of the World’s Largest Atlas

From The Dominion Post:

The book, World, is so big that it arrived at the Alexander Turnbull Library in a crate weighing more than a quarter of a tonne.
Two people are needed to turn a page of the book, of which only 31 have been made. The original plates were destroyed, meaning no more copies can be produced.
Turnbull cartography curator Mark Bagnall would not reveal how much the library had paid for the atlas but said it was bought for a “good discount”, below the usual price tag of $110,000.
The book grabbed the library’s interest because Wellingtonian Roger Smith was the chief cartographer on the project, overseeing the work of 88 cartographers around the world to produce the final maps.
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The spine is made of steel, with the cover made of leather-covered wood. Each of the 128 pages is the thickness of a standard business card.

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