The art and history of globes

Abstract

This book celebrates the art and history of the globe, focusing on the 400 years when the printed globe - as navigational tool, scientific instrument and powerful status symbol - occupied an important place in the history of European exploration. It ranges from the first globe ever made in China to the desktop models in Victorian schoolrooms, and from celestial globes of the sixteenth century to charming pocket examples produced as educational toys. Featuring sixty examples drawn from collections around the world, this is a major new book on the subject for the general reader and collectors alike, and uses stunning new photography to pick out the revealing details - ships and sea monsters, navigators' tracks and newly found islands, constellations and astronomical features - that help us to understand why globes were made and how they were used. - Published in North and South America by University of Chicago Press as 'Globes: 400 Years of Exploration, Navigation and Power.'