THE CONSTRUCTION OF A CLASSIC: LEVERETT & TAYLOR'S ROCKY ROAD TO THE PUBLICATION OF MONOGRAPH 53 IN 1915

In 1915, USGS Monograph 53 was finally published, but not without trials and tribulations! Field work and mapping actually began in 1899 before Leverett was finished with his work on Monograph 41 (published 1902). Taylor had actually been working in the Michigan area much earlier, thanks to his interest in the glacial beaches around his family’s cottage on Mackinac Island. Field work in the 1890’s and early 1900’s was logistically more difficult. Transport was by foot, wagon or horse, communication by letter or telegraph. Since the USGS 15 Minute Topographic Map Series were still incomplete for Michigan quadrangles, Leverett and Taylor often had to do their own mapping. Elevations for moraines were measured by aneroid barometer correlated to the nearest railroad station altitude. It was the compilation of thousands of small data points from changes in elevations and beach levelling, and the charting of that data on topographic maps, that allowed Leverett and Taylor to identify the morainic systems that surround the Great Lakes and infer the sequence of the glacial lobes and lakes that left their marks on the landscapes of the surrounding region.

Even without the difficulties of 1900’s field work, the process of actually getting the manuscript into publication was formidable. Leverett and Taylor both had other projects with deadlines, as well as personal family issues to deal with. In 1908, their USGS supervisor and mentor, Chamberlin, was forced into a role as a Consulting Geologist because of new rules regarding ownership of mining stock. USGS kept reducing allotments for field work and salary expenses. Leverett & Taylor had hoped to have the 1200 page manuscript ready by June 30, 1910 but difficulties in the final editing of maps, illustrations and text, delayed the process many times. In May, 1912, Chief Geologist Waldemar Lindgren suggested that the monograph be published as two separate professional papers, which Leverett strongly opposed. Leverett even had to argue about Taylor’s rights to publish the results of his privately funded work. In January of 1914 the Director finally told Leverett that the monograph would be transmitted to the printer and published at an early date. Even so, copies of the Monograph were not distributed until May of 1915.