The concept of the earth as a sphere has been around for centuries, emerging around the time of Pythagoras in the sixth century BC, and eventually becoming dominant as other thinkers of the ancient world, including Plato and Aristotle, accepted the idea. The first record of an actual globe being made is found in verse, written by the poet Aratus of Soli, who describes a celestial sphere of the stars by Greek astronomer Eudoxus of Cnidus (ca. 408–355 BC). The oldest surviving globe—a celestial globe held up by Atlas’s shoulders—dates back to 150 AD, but in the West, globes were not made again for about a thousand years. It was not until the fifteenth century that terrestrial globes gained importance, culminating when German geographer Martin Behaim created what is thought to be the oldest surviving terrestrial globe. In Globes: 400 Years of Exploration, Navigation, and Power, Sylvia Sumira, beginning with Behaim’s globe, offers a authoritative and striking illustrated history of the subsequent four hundred years of globe making. Showcasing the impressive collection of globes held by the British Library, Sumira traces the inception and progression of globes during the period in which they were most widely used—from the late fifteenth century to the late nineteenth century—shedding light on their purpose, function, influence, and manufacture, as well as the cartographers, printers, and instrument makers who created them. She takes readers on a chronological journey around the world to examine a wide variety of globes, from those of the Renaissance that demonstrated a renewed interest in classical thinkers; to those of James Wilson, the first successful commercial globe maker in America; to those mass-produced in Boston and New York beginning in the 1800s. Along the way, Sumira not only details the historical significance of each globe, but also pays special attention to their materials and methods of manufacture and how these evolved over the centuries. A stunning and accessible guide to one of the great tools of human exploration, Globes will appeal to historians, collectors, and anyone who has ever examined this classroom accessory and wondered when, why, and how they came to be made.

This book represents one of the very first detailed and comprehensive historical treatises on globes terrestrial and celestial in English language since the numerous works published before its appearance tended to give only a very general consideration to the uses of globes, including a reference to their important structural features, and to the problems geographical and astronomical in the solution of which they may be counted of service. The aim of this study was to treat the subject historically, beginning with the earliest references to the belief in a spherical earth and a spherical firmament encircling it, and it was inspired by the author's hope that the preliminary study may lead to a number of independent and thorough investigations of important individual examples, to the end of clearly setting forth their great documentary value._x000D_ Volume 1:_x000D_ Terrestrial Globes in Antiquity_x000D_ Celestial Globes in Antiquity_x000D_ Globes Constructed by the Arabs_x000D_ Terrestrial and Celestial Globes in the Christian Middle Ages_x000D_ Globes Constructed in the Early Years of the Great Geographical Discoveries_x000D_ Globes of the Early Sixteenth Century_x000D_ Globes of the Second Quarter of the Sixteenth Century_x000D_ Globes and Globe Makers of the Third Quarter of the Sixteenth Century_x000D_ Globes and Globe Makers of the Last Quarter of the Sixteenth Century_x000D_ Volume 2:_x000D_ Globes and Globe Makers of the Early Seventeenth Century. The Dutch Scientific Masters and Their Preeminent Leadership_x000D_ Globes of the Second Half of the Seventeenth Century_x000D_ Globes and Globe Makers of the First Half of the Eighteenth Century – from Delisle to Ferguson_x000D_ Globes and Globe Makers of the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century_x000D_ The Technic of Globe Construction – Materials and Methods

"This work is specially intended to accompany Malby's Globes, published under the superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge"--Page iii

A catalogue of globes held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, containing full entries on all items in the Museum's collection. The majority of entries are illustrated.