Alexander von Humboldt attempted to reproduce every single detail correctly and place it in a larger context. It was important to him to make the resulting areas of knowledge accessible to the public. His research was recorded and systematized down to the smallest detail. The documentation was so extensive that Humboldt was unable to catalogue all his travel reports and samples until the end of his life. The publications that he was able to publish, however, are characterized by the fact that not only the descriptive word, but also the depiction of objects and facts through engravings and tables took up a lot of space.

The design concept of this catalogue was derived from Alexander von Humboldt's way of working. The separation of text and illustrations into two books creates an equivalent space for both. The text and illustration sections refer to each other. The two books share a spine and thus become one object. This unusual binding makes the catalogue seem endless—a metaphor for the enormous scope of Humboldt's collections. As a paperback, the book is quickly accessible and can be read anywhere. The small format has resulted in a compact layout. The type area is partly flexible: on the back page, the type width is determined by the marginalia, but the front page seems fixed. The strict justification is only interrupted by the greatly reduced illustrations.