In our imagination, A.L. Day, a Dutch vulcanologist, was standing at Pakubuwono's rest house in Selo, Boyolali some time during 1886. His tongue made a clicking sound in admiration of Mount Merapi's imposing stature. Then he pressed the button of his simple camera once, taking a picture of the volcano and the flattened top resulting from its 1872 eruption. Technically, it was not a good photograph - it resembles the output of a bad photocopier