Are you looking for an impressive image to add to your blog? All you have to do is Google for it and it appears, as if by magic, on your screen—even if it’s an image taken from a centuries-old book. Spare a thought, however, for the poor people who have been tasked with putting it online in the first place.

Digitizing old books in their collections is a routine part of the work undertaken by archives and libraries. This both preserves the books and makes their content more accessible to the public. But what happens when you need to scan one that’s nearly six feet tall?

The Klencke Atlas. Photo: THE BRITISH LIBRARY/PUBLIC DOMAIN.

The Klencke Atlas

At five feet, ten inches tall, and seven feet, seven inches wide when open, the Klencke Atlas is a massive collection of 41 maps. It was made as a gift to King Charles II by