A Chronological Chart of Ancient, Modern and Biblical History. Synchronized by Sebastian C. Adams

Cincinnati: Strobridge & Co, 1876. Backstrip and corners worn, generally in fine condition. 68.5 x 664.5 cm (approximately 2.25 x 22 feet). Colored panorama joined and mounted on linen, lacquered, folding into original folio covers. Half calf. "A riot of color and detail." Second "Centennial" edition. A mammoth pictorial timeline of the history of the world, composed in a horizontal stream-of-time fashion and using Archbishop Ussher's canonical date of 4004 BCE for the Creation, it seamlessly moves from sacred to secular history. It was "a strong affirmation of the power of the regular, measured, single-axis timeline and the importance of visual tools in education" (Daniel Rosenberg and Anthony Grafton, 'Cartographies of Time: A History of the Timeline,' Princeton Architectural Press, 2010, p. 173). It could be purchased as an accordion form book as here, or on rollers for mounting on the wall.

The chart begins with a view of the world from the Eastern Hemisphere (since the discovery of the Western Hemisphere didn't come until much later) and includes the author's photographic portrait in the middle. It also shows ancient tools, Egyptian hieroglyphic letters, the Greek alphabet, prominent historians, important Biblical figures and their genealogy. Different timelines show chronologies for various countries and empires.