Globes and Globe Makers of the First Half of the Eighteenth Century—from Delisle to Ferguson
Activities of Guillaume Delisle.—Jean Dominique Cassini and his reforms.—Vincenzo Miot.—The globes of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk.—Activities of John Senex.—Nicolas Bion.—The armillary sphere of Carmelo Cartilia.—Mattheus Seutter of Augsburg.—Robert Morden.—Jean Antoine Nollet.—Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr of Nürnberg.—Terrestrial globe of Cusani.—Terrestrial globes of Siena.—The work of the monk Pietro Maria da Vinchio.—James Ferguson of Scotland.
AMONG the numerous globe makers of the eighteenth century, there are few, if any, entitled to rank with Blaeu or Hondius, with Greuter or Coronelli of the seventeenth. There was much written during the period, it is true, on the value of globes in geographical and astronomical studies, and there were many globes constructed, of which a very considerable number still have a place in our libraries, museums, and private collections.
With the improvements in scientific map construction, improvements amounting to a complete reformation, and ushered in during the closing years of the seventeenth century and the opening years of the eighteenth, by such men as Riccioli, Picard, Cassini, and Delisle, not to mention a number of their distinguished immediate predecessors and contemporaries, the last above-named working through the patronage of the Royal Academy of Science of France,[117]—with these improvements there appears to have been a decline in the relative value which the late sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries set upon globes. Once regarded as an essential part of a seaman’s instruments for use in navigation, they gave place, just as the portolan chart of the earlier day gave place, to an improved sailor’s chart. Globe makers, however, of this period, such as Delisle and Bion, as Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, as Vaugondy and Fortin, as Ferguson and Adams, have an honorable place in the history of globes and of globe construction.
France was leading at the turn of the seventeenth century in the field of geographical and astronomical science, a fact in part due to the generous subsidy allowed by royalty. Guillaume Delisle (1675-1726), perhaps the greatest among the reformers active in these years in improving the methods of map construction, was a native of Paris, in which city he passed practically his entire life.[118] The father, Claude Delisle, famous as a teacher of history and geography, inspired in his son a particular love for the latter subject, or perhaps this may the better be referred to as a love for historical geography. The period was one in which there was much emphasis placed upon the relationship existing between the two branches of study, and it is interesting to note that this phase of geographical study is again coming into favor.[119]
Doubtless it was in part the influence of Cassini’s teaching which found expression in Delisle’s lifelong efforts to eliminate the numerous errors which he had found existing in the maps of his day, efforts which even in his early life won for him distinction as a map maker. In the year 1700, when he was but twenty-five years of age, there appeared under his name a world map and likewise maps of the several continents.[120] In these there was exhibited much originality, they being constructed in the main on the basis of astronomical observations which had been made at the Royal Academy. Hitherto the Ptolemaic cartography had exerted an overpowering influence. Errors in the location of places still remained on the maps, attributable in large part to that ancient cosmographer, who continued for so long a period a most influential teacher of geography and map making after the renaissance of his ‘Cosmographia’ in the early fifteenth century. Among the greatest errors still to be found in the maps in Delisle’s day was the excessive length given to the Mediterranean, this being about sixty-two degrees of longitude instead of its correct length, which is about forty-two, and the extension of Asia much too far to eastward, together with other errors following upon these.[121] Delisle, having the support of the Royal Academy, and of the King himself, was able to carry through the reforms in map construction, the fundamental principles of which, it is true, had been suggested before his day, based upon such astronomical observations as were those of Cassini, Picard, and La Hire, wherein there had been an attempt to determine the exact location in longitude of important places on the earth’s surface and wherein they had been aided by the use of the telescope. Through the employment of this instrument they were able to fix the exact time of eclipses and determine the time of the transit of the moons of Jupiter.[122] In the ‘Journal des Savants’ of the year 1700 is given a letter addressed to the engraver and map maker, Nolin, and signed “Delisle.” In this there is reference to a manuscript globe of the year 1696, the implication being that Guillaume was its author.[123] The probability is that we have here a letter written by Claude, the father, it being hardly probable that the son drafted a globe map at the age of twenty-one. We, however, know, as before stated, that he achieved great distinction through the maps he published in the year 1700, when he was but twenty-five, and we are also informed that even at the age of eight he attracted attention to himself through the maps he drew to illustrate ancient history.
In the same year that he published his epoch-making maps he issued the first edition of his globes, those having a diameter of about 31 cm. and those having a diameter of about 15 cm. The globe balls were constructed of papier-mâché covered with plaster over which were pasted the gore maps, each map composed of twelve parts with the usual polar discs. The engraver, we are told, in a brief legend on the terrestrial globe, was Carolus Simonneau, “Car. Simon. del. et sculpsit.” On the larger of the terrestrial globes is the title legend “Globe terrestre dressé sur les observations de l’Académie Royale des sciences et autres mémoires,” and a dedication reading, “À Son Altesse Royale Monseigneur Le Duc de Chartres. Par son très humble et très obéissant serviteur G. De l’Isle Géographie. Berey sculpsit.”
The celestial globe bears the title, “Globe céleste calculé pour l’an 1700. Sur les observations les plus récents. Par. G. De l’Isle Géographe,” and is dedicated “À Son Altesse Royale Monseigneur le Duc de Chartres. Par son très humble et très obéissant Serviteur De l’Isle,” with the following reference to the privilege “À Paris Chez l’Auteur sur le Quai de l’Horologe à la Couronne de Diamans. Avec Privilége du Roy pour 20 ans. 1700.”
While it has not been possible to obtain a detailed description of Delisle’s globe maps, they are referred to as giving practically the same information as his plane maps, many of the latter to be found in our important library collections, and cannot be considered rare.[124]
The several constellations which he has represented on his celestial globes are those of Ptolemy to which have been added two in the northern hemisphere and thirteen in the southern, and the year chosen for the representation of the position of the stars is 1700. In general the names chosen for the several constellations are French, though a few are in Latin.
A pair of Delisle’s globes may be found in the Königliches Museum of Cassel, dated 1709; a pair dated 1700 in the Museo di Strumenti Antichi of Florence, and a terrestrial globe dated 1700 in the Real Biblioteca of Madrid (Fig. [118]).
Fig. 118. Terrestrial Globe of Guillaume Delisle, 1700.
Fig. 118a. Terrestrial Globe of Johann Ludovicus Andreae, 1717.
Weigel, Castlemaine, Coronelli, and Treffler, as has been noted, represented a tendency in globe construction in their day which we have referred to as the ultrapractical. It was impossible that their ideas should find anything like a general acceptance and approval. A globe eleven or fifteen feet in diameter, in the better judgment of astronomers and geographers, could not be counted as possessing superior scientific value, and globes of such dimensions seem only to have won the praise of the novelty-loving contemporaries, and the same general criticism may be passed upon the smaller globes of Castlemaine and Treffler. Perhaps, however, one may well add that in all this a desire was expressing itself for improvement in globe construction.
In this connection attention may be called to a plan for reform in globe making proposed by Jean Dominique Cassini (1625-1712), one of the most famous astronomers of the period.[125] Cassini was a native of Périnaldo, Italy (Fig. [119]). Early in life he became interested in the study of astronomy, and at the age of twenty-five received an appointment as professor of this science at the University of Bologna. Recommended by Colbert as one worthy his royal master’s patronage, Cassini in 1669 accepted the invitation of Louis XIV to fill the chair of astronomy in the Collège de France, a position once held by Pierre Gassendi.[126] In 1671 he became the director of the Royal Observatory of Paris, a position held in succession by four generations of his family. To him we owe the determination of the rotation periods of Jupiter, Venus, and Mars, the discovery of four of Saturn’s satellites and the determination of their periods of revolution. He devoted much time and study to the problem of the obliquity of the ecliptic, to the precession of the equinoxes,[127] and to the determination of the latitude and longitude of places.[128] This precession, he found, could not be represented on a celestial globe such as hitherto had been constructed, and he set himself to the task of devising one on a new plan. The position of the constellations, as indicated on the ordinary celestial globe, he, as others, noted would soon be found to be inaccurate. What he proposed was a globe capable of such adjustment as to obviate this difficulty; in other words, he proposed the construction of a globe by means of which this perpetual change might be indicated, or one which would serve to indicate the position of the several constellations at any time, past, present or future.
Fig. 119. Portrait of Jean Dominique Cassini.
Fig. 123. Portrait of Nicolas Bion.
It was to Nicolas Bion, map and globe maker of Paris that the astronomer Cassini entrusted the manufacture of such an instrument, and it is from him that we have a brief description of its peculiar features.[129] He tells us that the sphere on which the several constellations were represented was enclosed within a number of armillae representing the celestial circles, that is, the colures, the ecliptic, the tropics, the equator, and the polar circles. This inner sphere was attached to a meridian circle at the poles of its equator, within which circle it turned as the ordinary sphere, and it was also attached to the same meridian at the poles of the ecliptic. Around this polar axis of the ecliptic the sphere, with the attached meridian, could be made to revolve, the pole of the equator in its revolution tracing a circle having a radius of twenty-three and a half degrees, a complete revolution being made to represent a period of twenty-five thousand two hundred years, or the time required for the complete precession of the equinox according to his reckoning. This pole in its circle of revolution could be immovably set at any desired point to represent any time past or future, and the sphere then revolved around the pole of the equator. The several stars or constellations could thus be represented in their proper position for the time selected. Bion’s reference to this globe seems to assure us that he completed its construction, yet no trace of it has been left, unless we have such in a record to be found in the history of the Royal Academy for the year 1727. In this we find that a globe constructed on the principle laid down by Cassini was presented to the Academy, in the year designated, by Outhier, a priest of Besançon.[130] This globe, which has disappeared, had the double movements, one about the axis of the equator and one about the axis of the ecliptic. It was a globe which would represent the daily and annual movements of the sun, the difference between the true and the mean time, the movements of the moon and its phases, the eclipses, and the passing of the several fixed stars across the meridian.
Vincenzo Miot, a little-known Italian globe maker of the early eighteenth century, holds a place among the men who were interested in this field, through one extant example of his work, this being a small celestial, having a diameter of about 17 cm.[131] Its author and date legend reads, “Sphaera Mundi majoribus et minoribus circulis distincta praecipuisque stellis in nostro Horizonte conspicuis ornata ad annum 1710. Studio et opera D. Vincentio Miot.” “World globe marked by large and small circles, and adorned with the principal stars visible in our horizon calculated for the year 1710. By the learning and labor of D. Vincentio Miot.” The sphere is covered with an engraved map showing the several constellations and the principal celestial circles. Its twelve segments are fashioned to terminate at the poles of the ecliptic, instead of at the poles of the equator, a practice not uncommon. The globe has a simple mounting of wood, is reported to be in good condition, and may be found in the Liceo Marco Foscarini of Venice, to which library it came, in the year 1807, from the Convent of S. Georgio Maggiore.
It is not a little surprising that our information is so meager concerning men as active in the field of map and globe making as were Gerhard and Leonhard Valk in the latter part of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. We cannot be certain of their relationship; apparently they were not brothers, as has been sometimes stated. If there is not left to us a biographical word by any admiring or appreciative contemporary of these praiseworthy Netherlanders, there is extant a very considerable amount of their work which warrants our giving them rank well toward the van of those interested in their particular field. Of the two, Gerhard seems to have been the more prominent, his name very frequently appearing as the engraver or maker of many of the maps one finds in the collective atlases of the early eighteenth century.[132] With Leonhard he was the maker of globes, large and small, ranging from about 7 cm. to 46 cm. in diameter, of which a very considerable number may still be found in our libraries and museums.
In an undated work published by Gerhard on the uses of celestial and terrestrial globes,[133] he tells us of the improvements he introduced, noting that he had attempted to give the location of the stars on his celestial globe as late as 1700, while on those issued prior to his own, the dates selected were in general 1640 or 1660. The suggestion contained herein is that he at least began the construction of his globes as early as 1700, although none are now known bearing date so early.[134] There appears to be an example of his work in the University Library of Ghent, dated 1707, but a description of this it has not been possible to obtain. The date most commonly found on the Valk globes is 1750, all of which, if correctly dated, were issued long after their death.
The Hispanic Society of America possesses three pairs of the Valk globes, each apparently dated 1750, though in some instances, as noted below, these dates have been altered by skilfully cutting out the last two figures of the original and inserting the number 50. The diameter of each of the largest pair is 46 cm. (Fig. [120]). Each is supplied with a graduated meridian circle of brass, the celestial being furnished with a brass hour circle and pointer, and the terrestrial with a brass quadrant of altitude. Each is further furnished with a broad horizon circle of wood on which has been pasted an engraved paper giving the names of the signs of the zodiac, the various chronological signs, such as golden numbers, epacta, and dominical letters, the names of the months, and points of the compass, including both the old and the new nomenclature for the directions of winds, as “Borro Lybicus” or “Noord-West,” “Zephyrus” or “West.” The under supports of the globes consist in each instance of four turned columns attached at their lower extremities by crossbars on which rests a circular turned plate 42 cm. in diameter. From the center of these plates rises a post 10 cm. in length through a notch in which the brass meridian circle is made to pass in moving the globes to an adjustment for any desired altitude. The gores of each are twelve in number, those of the terrestrial globe having an equatorial mounting while those of the celestial globe have an ecliptic mounting, that is, the meridian lines pass from pole to pole of the ecliptic instead of from pole to pole of the equator. In each, the gores have been truncated twenty degrees from the poles, the polar space being covered by circular discs. The engraving of both the terrestrial and the celestial map is exquisitely done, and much of the color originally applied by hand yet remains. The several figures representing the constellations are copies of the figures as represented by Hevelius in his ‘Prodromus Astronomiae,’ and reference to this great astronomer is made in the title legend quoted below. These figures are among the most artistic representations to be found on any of the globes of the period, which the author is preparing to reissue in facsimile as a by-product of these globe studies. (Fig. [120a].)
Fig. 120. Terrestrial Globe of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, 1750 (?).
Fig. 120a. Southern Hemisphere of Celestial Globe by Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, with Author and Date Legend, 1750 (?).
Between the constellations “Cetus” and “Phoenix” on the celestial globe is a cartouch which appears to have been pasted over an older title, reading, “Uranographia Syderum et Stelarum in Singulis Syderibus conspicuarum, exhibens Delineatonem accuratissimam qua ex observationibus Astronomi plane Singularis Johannis Hevelii usque ad finem anni MDCC emendata est. Nova praeterea methodo additus est ex mente Lotharii Zumbach M.D. et Mathem. Cearis Horizon ad Meridianum Amstelaedamensem accurate per annos plures quam ducentos Lunae Syzygias indicans praeter annos communes et bissextiles. Opera et Studio Gerhardi et Leonhardi Valk Amstelaedamensium 17[50].” “Uranography of the constellations and of the single stars, exhibiting an accurate delineation (of the same) corrected from the observations of the renowned astronomer Johannes Hevelius, and conformed to the year 1700. Besides a new method is added, the invention of Lothar Zumbach, M. D., and a renowned mathematician, accurately exhibiting the horizon on the meridian of Amsterdam for more than 200 years, also the changes of the moon in addition to the common years and leap years. By the learning and the labor of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, citizens of Amsterdam, 1750.”
Near the constellation Argo appears the dedication to the Burgomaster of Amsterdam and President of the East India Company, Johannes Trip J. U. D. (1664-1732). In this there is, of course, conclusive evidence that the globe must have been made before the year 1732. The dedication reads, “Viro amplissima dignitate ac meritorum Splendore, conspicuo Johanni Trip J. U. D. Reipublicae Amstelaedamensis Consuli Gravissimo, Societatis Indiae Orientalis Moderatori integerrimo Toparchae in Berkenroden iustissimo & hanc Universi Orbis Terrarum Faciem eâ quâ par est reverentia D. D. D. Gerhardus et Leonhardus Valk.” “To John Tripp J. U. D., Consul of the Amsterdam Republic, President of the East India Company, the upright and honorable magistrate of Berkenrode, a man conspicuous by reason of his great worth and the splendor of his achievements, this globe is dedicated with reverence which is befitting by Gerhard and Leonhard Valk.”
Near the first legend has been pasted the following brief printed statement, “Propter motum, Stellarum fixarum versus ortum post annum 1750 additione 3/4 gr. Correctio Longitudinum ut instituatur monendus Uranophilus.” “Because of the movement of the fixed stars toward the east since the year 1750, the student of astronomy is advised to correct the longitude by the addition of 3/4 of a degree.” The terrestrial globe map, composed of eighteen gores, is filled with interesting geographical details, with geographical names and brief explanatory legends, being a fine example of the superior cartographical work published in that century in the Netherlands. There is something of an exaggeration in the representation by waving line of the several coasts and river courses, all of which appears to have been done for artistic effect rather than for a desire to be strictly accurate. In the New World we find such regional names as “Penn-Sylvania,” the first part of the name being north of Lake Ontario, also “Carolina,” “Virginia,” “Belgia Nova,” “Anglia,” “Scotia Nova.” Many provincial names are given in South America with boundary lines drawn. California is represented as an island, stretching northward to “Fretum Aniani.” To the west of this stretches as far as the northeast coast of Asia, through about seventy-five degrees of longitude with definitely drawn southern coast line but extending indefinitely northward, a continental region bearing the legend “Terra incognita sive terra Esonis.” Loxodromic lines are represented as on the best globes of the period radiating from numerous compass roses located along the meridians 0 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees. Frobisher’s Strait is strangely duplicated at the southern extremity of Greenland. The title legend of this terrestrial globe, placed in the southern Pacific, reads, “Universi Orbis Terrarum Facies cum industria ac fide Secundum certissimas et novissimas Praestantissimiorum Geographorum Observationes denuo luci exposita; cuique praeterea longitudinis et latitudinis gradus Secundum Uranographiam novam, ac proinde &c. rei veritate sunt inscripti per Gerhardum et Leonhardum Valk, Amstelaedamenses 1750, cum privilegio.” “A representation of the land of the whole earth exhibited with industry and accuracy according to the most reliable and the most recent observations of the most renowned geographers, on which, in addition the degrees of latitude and longitude according to a new method and also in accord with truth, have been inserted by Gerhard and Leonhard Valk. Amsterdam. 1750. With privilege.”
In the second pair of Valk globes belonging to The Hispanic Society of America (Fig. [121]), both terrestrial and celestial have diameters of about 30 cm. The mounting of these globes is practically the same as that in the larger pair. An author and date legend appearing in the Pacific to the west of South America reads: “Cosmotheore. Coelesti nostro Globo, Par et plane Novus. Hic Terrestris Ut existeret: certo facias: Errore Veterum Sublatô, Non tantum Utrisque Orbis Longitudines ac Latitudines, per reiteratas Neotericorum Observationes. Hiccè esse restitutas; Sed et nullum typis Emendatiorum pro diisse, Hoc igitur Novissimô tam diu fruere, Donec, sub Majori forma, Meō aere Alios excudemus. Ger. et Leon. Valk Calcographi Amstelaedami. Revis. Ao 1750 Cum Privilegio.” “Cosmotherium. That this terrestrial globe might equal (be a companion to) our celestial globe and entirely new, be assured that after correcting the errors of those who have preceded us, not only the longitudes and latitudes of each sphere have been corrected by the repeated observations of later astronomers, but likewise no (globe) has appeared more carefully corrected in the printing. This most recent globe therefore make use of until in a larger form at my own expense we Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, engravers shall construct others. Amsterdam. Revised to the year 1750. With privilege.”
Fig. 121. Terrestrial Globe of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, 1750 (?).
A dedication, such as appears on the first pair referred to, is wanting. There is no particular improvement to be noted in this revision. California is still laid down as an island. The uncertainty as to the outline of “Holandia Nova” is a striking feature, as is the omission of an austral continent. Geographical details are less numerous than in the larger pair, but in the matter of the engraving of the map it exhibits practically the same characteristics.
The celestial globe map has the author and date legend placed near the constellation “Cetus.” It reads, “Uranographia Coelum omne hic Complectens, illa pro ut aucta, et ad annum 1750 Completum MAGNO ab HEVELIO correcta est; ita ejus ex Prototypis, sua noviter haec Ectypa veris Astronomiae cultoribus exhibet et consecrant GER. et LEON. VALK, Amstelaedamenses. Cum Privilegio.” “Star-Map comprising the entire heavens according as it has been corrected to the end of the year 1750 by the Great Hevelius; so from his prototype Gerhard and Leonhard Valk present and dedicate these their own recent copies to the true lovers of astronomy. With privilege.”
Near this legend, now appearing as a part of the original engraving, is that which, in the larger globe referred to above, had been pasted on as a separate slip, reading “Propter motum ... Uranophilus.” Near the constellation “Hydra” is the legend reading “Monitum Novis hisce Sphaeris Novissimus. Ex praescripto Lotharii Zum-Bach Med. Doct. unus, et alter additus Horizon: Quorum Is, qui huic Caelesti singularis, Praeter Communes atque Bissextilem, Ut exactior, Luminarium indigetur Locus ad Meridianum Amstelodamens. Plus quam per Ducentos Annos, Suis Mensium Diebus Appositas Lunae Syzygias, Mediô Tempore Medias, Ingeniosâ Methodō et eruit, et exhibet.” “Notice. To these our spheres, in accord with the directions of Lothar Zum-Bach, Doctor of Medicine, there has been added one very recent, and also a second horizon; of these two the one which belongs to the celestial globe has in addition the common and bissextile years, in order that the location of the stars may the more exactly be discovered; it both works out and exhibits by an ingenious method, according to the meridian of Amsterdam, over a space of more than two hundred years the syzygies of the moon placed opposite their proper days of the month, the middle ones being in the middle time.”
Each of these globes is well preserved, the colors originally applied remaining particularly bright in the southern hemispheres, these being better protected from light and from injuries incident to the more exposed upper surfaces.
In the third pair of Valk globes belonging to The Hispanic Society (Fig. [121a]) the diameter of each is about 23 cm. In geographical details, in legends, etc., each of these agrees with the preceding second pair. It is, however, to be noted that the date on the terrestrial globe has the figure 50 appearing in the date 1750 skilfully inserted after the removal of the original, and that the loxodromic lines are on this more numerous; indeed, it is one of the most interesting globes examined for the representation of these lines, which become curiously, but necessarily, somewhat intricate in their crossings as they approach the poles. Of the three pairs of these globes referred to above, this third pair seems to be the best preserved; the only injury to be especially noted is that appearing on the celestial, this being a crack in the surface extending from pole to pole. The original colors in each are particularly well preserved.
In addition to the examples of Valk globes referred to above as belonging to the University of Ghent and to The Hispanic Society of America, a pair may be found in the Königliches Museum of Cassel, said by Gerland to be dated 1715, and to have each a diameter of 45 cm., also a terrestrial globe in the same museum said to be dated, though doubtless erroneously, 1700, and to have a diameter of 23 cm., also a celestial globe of the same date having a diameter of 30 cm. In the Mathematische Salon of Dresden is a celestial globe having a diameter of 30 cm., and a pair in the Museo di Fisica of Bologna, the diameter of each being about 46 cm. The date has not been ascertained. In the Germanisches Nationalmuseum of Nürnberg may be found a well-preserved pair of the Valk globes said to be dated 1700 and to have each a diameter of 31 cm.
Fig. 121a. Celestial Globe of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, 1750 (?).
John Senex, a noted English cartographer and engraver (d. 1749),[135] appears to have given some attention to the construction of globes, which were sold at his establishment in Salisbury Court, London. In the year 1714 we find his name associated with that of John Maxwell in the issue of ‘The English Atlas,’ and in 1721 he appears as the editor of ‘A New General Atlas.’ It was in the year 1720 that he made a representation to the House of Commons on the subject of “A New Globular Projection,” with the thought of eliciting encouragement for the employment of better methods in map construction. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1728, and in 1738 read before that society a noted paper on his “Contrivance to make the Poles of the Diurnal Motion in a Celestial Globe pass round the Poles of the Ecliptic.” This globe was to be “so adjusted as to exhibit not only the risings and the settings of the stars in all ages and in all latitudes, but the other phenomena likewise, that depend upon the motion of the diurnal axis round the annual axis.” From what is stated in this paper one is led to associate his idea with that of Cassini, to which attention was directed above. If, however, such a globe was constructed as that referred to in this scientific address it is not now known. Five of his globes have been located, two of them undated, and three of them dated 1793, which, if the correct date of issue, it will be noted, is more than fifty years after his death. A pair of his globes may be found in the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris undated. These are reported as having a diameter of about 40 cm. They are furnished with brass meridian circles, with horizon circles of wood, and each with a wooden base. The dedication reads: “Philosopho ac Geometrae summo Do Isaaco Newton, equiti, Regalis Societatis Londini, ad scientias promovendas institutae, Praesidi dignissimo, ejusdemque consilio et sodalibus hos Globos qua par est humilitate D.D. C. Johannes Senex. London.” “To the great philosopher and geometrician Sir Isaac Newton, Knight, most worthy President of the Royal Society of London, for the promotion of knowledge, and to the Committee and Members of the same Society these globes with befitting humility are dedicated by C. John Senex. London.” Further descriptive details of these globes it has not been possible to obtain.
The Biblioteca Real of Madrid possesses a terrestrial globe by Senex (Fig. [122]), which bears the title legend, “A new and most correct Globe of the Earth laid down from the latest observations from the most judicious astronomers, navigators, & travelers, by John Senex, F. R. S. Now made and sold by Dudley Adams (only)[136] with all the latest discoveries together with many new improvements etc. 1793.” This globe has a diameter of about 40 cm., is furnished with a broad band which serves as a horizon circle, a meridian circle of brass within which it is made to revolve, and a tripod base. Its three fluted support columns are strengthened in their position by three curved iron braces which carry at their juncture a short carved post, through a slot in which the brass meridian is movable. While the surface of the sphere is somewhat injured, being crossed by numerous cracks, the engraved map is fairly legible in all of its parts.
Fig. 122. Terrestrial Globe of John Senex, 1793.
The British Museum likewise possesses one of Senex’s terrestrial globes, which seems to be practically like that to be found in the Madrid Library.
It will have been noted that many of those reputed to have been globe makers in these early years did not actually apply themselves to the constructive mechanical work, this being passed over to skilled artisans, to workers in metal and wood, to engravers and to mathematical instrument makers, who, if possessing generally recognized ability, often insisted on having their names associated in the author legends with the real authors of the globes. Nicolas Bion (1652-1733) may be cited as an excellent example of such a skilful workman, achieving in his day great distinction as a globe maker.[137] He seems not to have thought of himself as one meriting special honors as geographer, cartographer or astronomer (Fig. [123]). By reason of his marked abilities, exhibited in the manufacture of mathematical instruments, he was honored by his royal patron with the title Engineer of the King for Mathematical Instruments. Through his principal work,[138] a treatise on the construction and uses of globes in which the subject is treated in both a theoretical and a practical manner, he is entitled to rank with the leaders of the century in this particular field of scientific endeavor. True to the spirit of the age Bion gave much thought to the idea of reform in the matter of globe construction, especially in the matter of fashioning globe gores and their attachment to the surface of the sphere. He seems to have prospered in his business, and we are told by his son that he constructed numerous armillary spheres, likewise many terrestrial and celestial globes of various sizes. Reference is made above to a task assigned to him by the great astronomer, Cassini.[139]
A few of the globes of this distinguished man have been located. Fiorini reports[140] that one of his celestial globes may be found in the private library of Count Malvezzi de’ Medici of Bologna, having a diameter of about 32 cm. Its twelve gores have been cut at latitude 70 degrees both north and south, the polar spaces being covered by four sectors instead of by the usual circular disc. The globe is made to revolve on its equatorial axis, not on the axis of the ecliptic. It has a simple mounting, including a meridian circle of brass and a horizon circle of wood. Star names are given in French and in Latin. The dedication reads, “Dédié et présenté à Monseigneur le Dauphin par son très humble et très obéissant Bion,” but there appears to be some uncertainty about the date, which is probably between 1700 and 1710. There is one of Bion’s terrestrial globes dated 1712 and dedicated to “Monseigneur le Duc de Berry,” in the Istituto tecnico of Florence, which is reported to be in a good state of preservation. Loxodromic lines are drawn on the map in accord with the best practices of the time, which radiate from wind or compass roses, one being placed on the equator and one at latitude 35 degrees south. A third terrestrial globe made by Bion may be found in the Osservatorio Astronomico of Rome, which is wanting both dedication and place of publication.
The Osservatorio Astronomico also possesses a fine armillary sphere, the work of Carmelo Cartilia,[141] the diameter of whose largest or meridian circle is about 26 cm. It is described by a former director of the observatory as being made of brass, and a companion of a globe constructed by Bion, having a similar mounting. The equatorial circle, the tropics, and the colures have the usual graduation. The ecliptic consists of a band 4 cm. in width, having engraved on its surface the signs of the zodiac and the days of the months. At the north pole is attached an hour circle with index. At the common center of the circles is a small ball 27 mm. in diameter representing the earth, through which the axis of the ecliptic passes. Around this small ball is adjusted a circle on which is engraved the word “Luna.” There is an additional small circle which represents the course of the sun, and attached to this is a silvered ball to represent that luminary. Circles are provided representing the planets, on which we find such names as “Marti,” “Giove,” “Saturno,” and circles around the sun representing the course of the planets Mercury and Venus. On one of the supporting arms of the sphere is the author and date legend, reading, “Carmelus Cartilia et Francalancia Siculus fecit Taurini anno dñi 1720.”
Mattheus Seutter (1678-1756) was a map and globe maker of this period, whose activities centered in the city of Augsburg.[142] His early training as engraver was received in the establishment of Johann Baptista Homann in the city of Nürnberg, but in the year 1707 he established himself in his native city, Augsburg, setting up an independent business for the production of maps, globes, and mathematical instruments. Seutter holds his place in the history of cartography not so much by reason of the high quality of the work done as by reason of the quantity.[143] The number of maps, large and small, battle plans and city plans, charts geneological, chronological, and heraldic, which he published may be counted by the hundreds, the majority being modified copies of maps and charts which others had previously issued. As a reward for the dedication of his large atlas to the Emperor Charles VI, issued in the year 1725, he was named “Imperial Geographer,” a title which had been held by Homann until his death in the year 1727.
Following the practice of the more prominent map makers of the period, Seutter turned his attention to globe construction, and not a few examples of his work can still be found. Some of his globes were of large size, having a diameter of about 160 cm. The terrestrial as well as the celestial globe balls he covered with twelve engraved sections, or twice twelve, these being cut at the line of the equator, and at latitude sixty-seven both north and south, the polar space being covered, as was usual, with a circular cap or disc. The mountings of these globes consist of a wooden meridian circle and a graduated wooden horizon circle, having each on the upper surface the usual concentric rings with the names of the months, the names and signs of the zodiacal constellations, and the names of the principal winds, the whole being supported by two semicircles attached below to a single columnar base 28 cm. in length. A brief author legend reads, “Globus terrestris juxta recentissimas observation: et navigation: peritissimor: Geograph: delineat. cura et sumptibus Matth. Seutteri Calcogr: August.” “Terrestrial globe according to the most recent observations and voyages of the most skilled geographers. Made by the labor and at the expense of Mattheus Seutter renowned engraver.”
The maps on these globes present no features of special scientific value, the author following in the main the best contemporary geographical and astronomical records. It should, however, be noted that he introduced an improvement in the construction and printing of the circular polar discs. To the end of remedying the difficulty in attaching this part of the covering, having observed, as others, that the paper would expand with the application of paste, and could therefore not be adjusted with the strictest accuracy and nicety, he conceived the idea of cutting from this disc a very small section or small sections, so that when it was applied to the sphere after being moistened with the paste the amount of stretching was sufficient to cover the space. In other words, he made his circular disc one of 350 degrees instead of one having the full 360 degrees. In this connection, it might be noted that the quality of the paper was an element always to be taken into account in calculating the amount of expansion after moistening.
A pair of Seutter’s globes may be found in the Biblioteca Comunale of Macerata. A copy of the terrestrial is reported in 1892 to have been in the private library of Professor Maximilian Tono of Venice, a pair in the Museo Astronomico of Rome (Figs. [124], [125]) and also in this museum may be found a complete set of the gores for one of his terrestrial as well as a set for one of his celestial globes, but which by Professor Jacoli of Venice have been thought to be reprints and not originals. A copy of the celestial globe may be found in the Biblioteca Universitario of Urbino.
Fig. 124. Terrestrial Globe of Mattheus Seutter, 1710.
Fig. 125. Celestial Globe of Mattheus Seutter, 1710.
Fig. 125a. Terrestrial Globe of Van Lauen Zonen, 1745.
Robert Morden,[144] active in London in the closing years of the seventeenth and early years of the eighteenth century as map and globe maker, seems, however, not to have won for himself a place of particular prominence, his maps not being held in especially high repute. He was for some time associated with Thomas Cockrill at “The Sign of the Atlas” in Cornhill. Morden, however, published a small work on geography and navigation in the year 1702, in which he attempted to set forth the value attaching to globes for those interested in the general subject of which he treated in his work.[145] While his map publications are numerous, it has been possible to locate only the gores of one of his globes, which gores may be found in the British Museum. Of the twelve sections which made up a complete set for covering a sphere about 35 cm. in diameter, but nine remain, three having disappeared.
Jean Antoine Nollet, a French physicist (1700-1770), was a man of science held in high esteem in his day.[146] In his early years he entered the College of Clermont, later studied philosophy at the University of Paris, where, against the wishes of his parents, he finally turned his attention to the study of the natural sciences, particularly to experimental physics. Early in his career he was honored with membership in the Royal Academy of Sciences of Paris and in other similar organizations in Europe. In the year 1739 he was called to the Court of Sardinia, where he gave lessons in physics to the Duke of Savoy. Later he was called to the University of Turin, and was here especially honored by having his name associated with those who were the founders of the institution. In the year 1753 he was called to the chair of physics at the College of Navarre, which position he so acceptably filled that he received the title Master of Physics and of Natural History for the Royal Children of France. His published works, which are very numerous, treat of his studies in the physical sciences, particularly in the field of electricity.
Nollet’s instruments, made for use in the study of the physical sciences, included terrestrial and celestial globes, six of which have been located, dated 1728 and 1730. The spheres are of papier-mâché, having each a diameter of about 35 cm.[147] The engraved maps covering the spheres are composed of twelve gores, which are cut at the line of the equator but extend to the poles, omitting therefore the usual polar circular discs. Each is furnished with a horizon circle of wood, on the surface of which is the usual paper covering with the names of the principal directions, of the zodiacal constellations, and of the names of the months in concentric circles. Each also has a graduated meridian circle, the whole resting on a base of four turned and rather artistically fashioned columns.
His terrestrial globes have the following title: “Globe terrestre dressé sur les observations les plus nouvelles et le plus exactes approuvées par Mrs de l’Académie Royale des sciences. À Paris avec privilège du Roi. Monté par l’auteur.” “Terrestrial globe made according to the most recent and the most exact and approved observations by the Royal Academy of Sciences. Paris, with the approval of the King. Made by the author.” The dedication reads “Dédié et présenté à S. A. Madame La Duchesse du Maine par son très-humble et très-obéissant serviteur Nollet Lic. en Théologie. 1728.” “Dedicated and presented to Her Highness the Duchess of Maine by her very humble and very obedient servant Nollet Licentiate in Theology. 1728.” Numerous inscriptions relate to well-known geographical discoveries. Meridian and parallel circles are drawn on the globe at intervals of five degrees, the principal ones, including the equator, the tropics, and polar circles, being made especially prominent. The prime meridian, passing through the Island of Ferro, is designated “premier méridien de l’Isle Fer. Déclaration du Roi Louis XIII du Juil. 1634.”
The celestial globe is titled “Globe céleste calculé pour l’année 1730 sur les observations les plus nouvelles et les plus exactes. À Paris avec privilège du Roi. Bailleul le jeune sculpsit. Monté par l’auteur.” “Celestial globe calculated to the year 1730 according to the most recent and the most exact observations. Paris, with the privilege of the King. Bailleul the younger engraver. Constructed by the author.” It is dedicated “Dédié et présenté à S. A. S. Monseigneur le Comte de Clermont par son très-humble et très-obéissant serviteur Nollet de la Société des Arts. 1730.” “Dedicated and presented to His Most Serene Highness Seigneur The Count of Clermont by his very humble and very obedient servant Nollet of the Society of Arts. 1730.” The equatorial circle and the ecliptic, as represented on the map, are graduated, but the tropics and the polar circles are merely drawn as continuous black lines. The figures representing the several Ptolemaic constellations are artistically drawn and retain much of their original color, which was added by hand at the time of construction.
Of Nollet’s globes a pair may be found in the Biblioteca Maldotti of Guastalla, a pair in the Seminario Vescovile of Mondovi, a copy of the terrestrial in the Archivo Fenaroli of Brescia, and a copy of the celestial in the Museo Astronomico of Rome.
Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr (1671-1750) was one of Nürnberg’s famous eighteenth-century mathematicians who was especially distinguished as writer, translator, editor, and teacher.[148] A part of his early training he received at the Egedian Gymnasium of his native town, where from 1704 to the time of his death he was actively engaged as teacher of mathematics and physics. In the year 1696 we find him registered as a student of law at the University of Altdorf, though turning betimes with much enthusiasm to the study of mathematics under the direction of Joh. Christoph Sturm. In the year 1700, after some months passed at the University of Halle, he determined to add to his equipment for his life work such experience as could be gained through travel; accordingly he visited in turn the more important cities of his own country and those of Holland and England, spending in his travels a period of ten years. Among his more important publications may be mentioned a translation of the ‘Astronomy’ of Thomas Street,[149] a work by Bion in a German translation from the French, which at the same time he enlarged.[150] His ‘Einleitung zur Geographie,’ appearing as an introduction to Homann’s ‘Atlas’ issued in the year 1714, and his ‘Atlas Coelestis,’ issued in the year 1742, are among his more important works original in character, which he published on the subject of geography and astronomy. His principal work is his ‘Notes’ on the mathematicians and artists of Nürnberg.[151]
It was doubtless through his connection with the cartographical establishment of Homann that he felt induced to undertake the construction of his globes, examples of which exist dated 1728. In the collection belonging to The Hispanic Society of America (Fig. [126]) there may be found a fine example of his terrestrial globes, which has a diameter of about 32 cm. Over a carefully prepared hollow wooden ball twelve gores, cut at the line of the equator and five degrees from each pole, have been pasted. The small polar spaces lying between latitudes 85 degrees, both north and south, are covered by circular discs, having a diameter of but ten degrees, on the one is engraved “Polus Arcticus” and on the other “Polus Antarcticus.” The globe is furnished with a narrow graduated meridian of brass within which the sphere turns on its polar axis, a horizon circle of wood, circular on its inner edge but octagonal on the outer. The engraved paper strip containing the zodiacal figures, calendar, and directions, has practically disappeared. The base support consists of four small turned columns of wood, attached at their lower extremities by crossbars over which is a circular plate, provision having been made for insertion into its surface of a compass, which instrument, however, has disappeared. Excepting slight damage to its horizon circle the globe may be said to be in an excellent state of preservation. In a neat cartouch in the North Pacific is the title legend reading, “Globus terrestris in quo locorum insigniorum situs terraeque facies secundum praecipuas celeberrimorum nostri aevi Astronomorum et Geographorum observationes opera Joh. Gabr. Doppelmaieri Mathem. Prof. Publ. Norib. exhibentur, concinnatus a Joh. Georg. Puschnero Chalcographo Norib. A. C. 1728.” “Terrestrial globe on which the position of the principal places on the surface of the earth are shown according to the principal observations of the most celebrated astronomers and geographers of our times by the labor of John Gabriel Doppelmayr, mathematician, professor and publisher of Nürnberg. Engraved by John George Puschner, engraver of Nürnberg[152] in the year 1728.” An interesting legend in the South Pacific tells us “Exprimit Globus hic noster quicquid Geographia recens ex Observationibus fide dignis suppeditat tam in situ locorum plurium, quam in terrarum novarum etiam mariumque ambitu. Meridianus primus per Insulam Fer inter Canarias (quae olim Fortunatae dicebantur) occidentalissimam ductus a quo Parisiensis Meridianus Probatissimarum Observationum testimonio 20 Gradibus, Noribergensis vero 28 Gr. 40 Min: distat.” “This globe of ours shows that which the latest geographical information furnishes from the trustworthy observations both as regards the location of new places and the extent of the new lands and seas. The first meridian passes through the Island of Ferro in the Canary Islands (called the Fortunate Islands), which is the most western point and from which the meridian of Paris, according to the testimony of the most approved observations differs by 22 degrees, while that of Nürnberg differs by 28 degrees and 40 minutes.” Around this legend are the engraved portraits of famous explorers, “Mart. Bohemus Norimbegus,” “Americus Vesputi,” “Franc. Draco,” “Schouten,” “Georg Spilbergius,” “R. P. Tachard,” “Wilh. Dampier,” “Mon. de la Salle,” “Thomas Candisch,” “Olivirius a Nord,” “Ferdin. Magellanicus,” “Christ. Columbus.”
Fig. 126. Terrestrial Globe of Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, 1728.
While the representation of the world is not so detailed in certain respects as we find, for example, on the Valk globes, there nevertheless is the evidence that the author wished to include such information as in his judgment should be recorded. There are records of interest in the newly explored regions of America. California is laid down as a peninsula. In about latitude 41 degrees there appears a Drake record reading “Pt. F. Drack.” “Fretum Anian” is represented at latitude 45 degrees. Sixty degrees to the west of this is the somewhat indefinitely indicated coast line of “Terra Borealis incognita detecta Dom. Ioh. de Gama,” this being separated from the coast of “Kamtzadalia Terra Jedso” by “Fretum Vries.” The recently explored regions in the Far East, as in Australia, New Zealand, Van Diemen’s Land,—each, however, being represented as imperfectly known,—are made very prominent. There are scarcely any map records of the period more interesting than are those to be found on this globe of Doppelmayr’s. The routes of Magellan, 1519; Nord, 1600; Roggeveen, 1722; Dampier, 1700; Tasman, 1624; Loys, 1708; Lemaire, 1616, are all laid down. In latitude 60 degrees south and longitude 300 degrees we find, “Port detecta per Fr. Drack,” and again in latitude 67 degrees south and longitude 310, “I. deton detecta per F. Drack.”
To accompany his terrestrial globe, Doppelmayr issued a celestial globe bearing the same date. A title legend on the latter reads, “Globus coelestis novus Stellarum fixarum loca secundum celeberrimi astronomi Dantiscicani Joannis Hevelii Catalogum ad annum 1730 compl. sistens opera Joh. Gabr. Doppelmaieri M. P. P. exhibitus a Johanne Georgio Puschnero Chalcographo Noribergensi. A. C. 1728.” “A new celestial globe giving the location of the fixed stars according to the record of the celebrated Danish astronomer Johannes Hevelius conforming to the year 1730, by the labor of Johannes Gabriel Doppelmayr, mathematician, professor, publisher, engraved by Johannes George Puschner, engraver of Nürnberg, in the year 1728.” In size and in general features of construction these globes seem to agree, being scientifically and carefully constructed. A pair of these globes may be found in the Biblioteca Capitolare of Verona, a pair in the Geographisches Institute of Göttingen, a copy of the celestial in the Mathematical Salon of Dresden, a copy of the terrestrial in the Museo di Fisica of Pavia, a pair dated 1728 in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum of Nürnberg, a pair dated 1736, 20 cm. in diameter, and three copies each of his globes issued in 1730, 20 cm. in diameter, and a celestial globe dated 1730 and 20 cm. in diameter, in Dresden. (Fig. [126a].)
Fig. 126a. Celestial Globe of Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, 1728.
Fiorini notes the existence of a large terrestrial globe belonging to the Marquis Luigi Cusani,[153] which probably was constructed in the early eighteenth century, perhaps before 1730, by order of Cardinal Agostino Cusani. The globe, unsigned and undated, is of papier-mâché, having a diameter of about 120 cm. The paper gores with which the sphere is covered are not all of like form, but all are cut at the line of the equator and at latitude 80 both north and south, the usual circular disc being provided for covering the polar areas. On its surface the map has been drawn by hand, and practically all of the geographical names recorded are in the Italian language. The globe is mounted on a solid base, having a heavy horizon circle of wood, which is graduated, and on its surface are the names and the signs of the several zodiacal constellations, the names of the months and of the principal winds or directions. The meridian circle, within which the sphere revolves, is of brass and is graduated. It is reported to be in a good state of preservation.
The Biblioteca Comunale of Siena possesses two anonymous terrestrial globes, according to report of Fiorini, the one having a map in manuscript, the other having an engraved map.[154] The first of these, unsigned and undated, probably of the second quarter of the century, has a diameter of about 120 cm. The sphere is of wood, the surface of which is covered with mastic or varnish, and on this the map has been drawn. It is constructed to revolve within its simple mounting of wood by means of a crank. The title legend reads “Globe terrestre Dressé selon les observations de l’Acad. Royale de Paris et des autres Acad. plus célébrés d’Europe.” “Terrestrial globe constructed according to the observations of the Royal Academy of Paris and of other Academies the most celebrated in Europe.” In addition to the above legend one finds the following inscription: “On a pris la longitude des villes principales des Tables de Mur Philippe de La Hire. Les autres villes ou il n’ a point d’observations sont icy places en la même distance des villes principales dans la quelle on les voit dans les cartes de M. Guillaume de l’Isle.” “The longitudes of the principal towns have been taken from the tables of Mur Philippe de La Hire.[155] The other towns which have not been located from observation are placed at the same distance from the principal towns as they are located on the maps of M. Guillaume de l’Isle.”
It seems probable that this globe was constructed in France, and from the particular references to La Hire and Delisle one may infer, as noted above, that it belongs to the early eighteenth century. Parallels and meridians are drawn on the surface of the globe at intervals of ten degrees, and one conspicuous wind rose with sixteen radiating lines is placed in latitude 30 degrees north and longitude 350 degrees counting from the prime meridian, which passes through the Island of Ferro. This globe, it is thought, came to the Siena Library about the year 1810, at the time of French rule in Tuscany, together with the library of the Convent of S. Augustine, but how it came to have place in the Augustine convent is unknown.
The second Sienese terrestrial globe, like the one just described, probably belongs to about the same date.[156] It has the following legend conspicuously placed: “Globo terracqueo corretto et accresciuto secondo le nuove scoperte. Anno 1744. In Roma nella Calcografia del R:C:A: al Piè di Marmo.” “Terrestrial globe corrected and enlarged according to recent discoveries. 1744. In Rome in the engraving establishment of R. C. A. at the foot of the marble.” The globe ball is of wood, having a diameter of about 50 cm. Additional information concerning this globe it has not been possible to obtain. Copies of it may be found in the Biblioteca Comunale of Imola, in that of Osimo, in that of Savignano, and in the Seminario Vescovile of Ivrea.
Fig. 126b. Celestial Globe of Johann Puschner, 1730.
In the Museo di Strumenti Antichi of Florence there is a well-preserved armillary sphere,[157] having the usual large circles the outer one measuring about 15 cm. in diameter, of four lesser ones and of these there are two small ones representing the sun and the moon. The meridian and the equator are graduated, as is likewise the ecliptic, having engraved on its surface the names of the principal winds in the Italian language, and the ecliptic having engraved in Latin on its surface the names of the signs of the zodiac. On one of the arms which supports the horizon circle is the author and date legend, reading, “Joseph Torricelli F. Florentiae 1739.” Fiorini thinks it probable that Joseph was a relative of Evangelista Torricelli, inventor of the barometer.
Pietro Maria da Vinchio, a monk of the order of St. Francis, deserves a word of special praise for the skill with which he labored as a map and globe maker about the middle of the eighteenth century.[158] He seems to have followed in the main the work of Moroncelli, and that of the unknown maker of the Cusani globe, yet he should be counted a workman possessing greater technical ability. His first pair of globes have a diameter of about 60 cm. The mounting consists of a meridian and a horizon circle of wood, the whole resting on a somewhat elaborate wooden base. The gores with which he covered his spheres are in each instance eighteen in number, but each gore has been cut into three sections—at the parallel of 40 degrees, both north and south, and also at the parallel of 80 degrees, the polar spaces having the usual circular disc covering. The terrestrial globes have represented on their surfaces the polar and the tropical circles, also the ecliptic and the equator, together with the several parallels and meridians at intervals of ten degrees. Artistic wind roses are placed at each of the equinoctial points, each with points representing the eight principal directions. The title legend reads, “Globus terrestris juxta geographicas mappas novissime editas accurate descriptus, in quibus, exactiori observatione praemissa, errores multiplices sunt emendati, qui in veteri geographia detinebantur impressi. F. Petri Mariae a Vinchio opus et labor 1739.” “Terrestrial globe accurately delineated according to the most recent geographical maps in which, by more exact observations, numerous errors are corrected which continued to be printed in the old geography. Fra Peter Maria a Vinchio, his work and labor, 1739.”
The celestial globe, similar in its construction in practically every respect to the preceding, has its system of circles represented according to the equatorial system instead of the ecliptic system. All of the Ptolemaic constellations are represented, the figures of the several constellations being very artistically painted. Its dedication reads, “Ill̄mo ac Rev̄mo D. D. Petro Hieronymo Caravadossi Episcopo Casalensi Ordinis Praedicatorum parvum hoc Firmamentum dicatum a F. Petro Maria de Vinchio Ord. Min. Stric. Obser. operis auctor. 1745.” “Dedicated to the Illustrious and Reverend D. D. Peter Hieronymus Caravadossi Bishop of Casale of the Preaching Friars, by Fra. Peter Maria de Vinchio of the Strict Minorite Order, who is the author of this work, in the year 1745.” The pair just described may be found in the Biblioteca Seminario Maggiore of Casale Monferrato. Fiorini is of the opinion that these globes, presented to the learned Father Pietro Girolamo Caravadossi of the Preaching Friars, Bishop of Casale, must have been given by him to the seminary library, that they might serve in the education of the priests. It is even probable that the two globes came to the library by a direct clause in the will of the bishop, since it is known that he bequeathed to the same library all of his books and an annual sum, that the library might be used not only by the members of the seminary but by the general public as well.
Not long after the completion of the pair just described, da Vinchio undertook the construction of a second and larger pair. These he began in the year 1746 and completed in the year 1751. These globes have a diameter of about 105 cm. Like the preceding they are of papier-mâché. Each is furnished with a meridian and a horizon circle of wood, and a somewhat elaborate supporting base. On the parchment covering of the spheres the maps have been drawn by hand. On the terrestrial globe the meridians and the parallels are represented at intervals of ten degrees. Place names, the names of the seas and of the rivers are in the Italian language or in the language of the country claiming possession. Very many of the discoveries are referred to in appropriate legends. The title and date legend reads “D. O. M. Globus terraqueus Juxta geographicas mappas novissime editas accurate descriptus, in quibus, exactiori observatione praemissa, longitudinum, latitudinumque punctis verius universe compertis, errores multiplices sunt emendati, qui in veteri geographia detinebantur impressi. Inferius scripti mens, labor, ars, et opus. F. Petrus Maria a Vinchio. In Conventu S. M. de Templo Casalis annis 1746-1747-1748.” “D. O. M. Terrestrial globe accurately described according to the latest geographical maps in which by a more exact observation and by a truer location of the points of longitude and latitude many errors have been corrected which continued to be printed in the old geographies. What follows is the work and labor of Fra. Peter Maria a Vinchio, made in the Convent of Santa Maria at the Temple in Casale in the years 1746-1747-1748.”
The celestial globe is similarly mounted, having a title legend which reads “Globus coelestis Circa quem spectabiliores, magisque obviae stellae juxta dispositionem et situm, longitudinis scilicet ac latitudinis gradū, in quo ab Auctore Universi in Firmamento sunt positae, dispositae inspiciuntur; singulis tamen figuris a Poetis ideatis, ab Astromomis diductae, et assignatae novissime auctus. F. Maria a Vinchio O. M. S. O. Anno 1750.—Opifex.—1751.” “Celestial globe in which are to be seen more clearly and more distinctly set forth the stars according to their places and positions, that is, their degrees of longitude and latitude where they have been placed in the firmament by the Creator of the Universe. To which have been added the figures of the constellations idealized by the poets, brought to earth and assigned their true places by astronomers. F. Maria a Vinchio of the Strict Order of the Minorites maker. In the year 1750-1751.”
The figures of the constellations are well drawn and are colored, the names of these constellations being given in Latin. This pair of Maria’s globes may be found in the Biblioteca Municipale of Alessandria, in which town he probably lived at the time of their construction, and probably at the convent of the Capuchin monks.
Prefixed to his ‘Select Mechanical Exercises,’ first issued in the year 1773, James Ferguson (1710-1776), Scotch experimental philosopher, physicist, and astronomer (Fig. [127]), gives us a most interesting specimen of autobiography.[159] It is a remarkable story of native genius and of self-instruction. Herein he tells us how the child of poor parents, with an unquenchable desire for scientific knowledge, proceeded in his early years, step by step, until at length he attained to a position of great renown, not only in his own country but as well in other lands. He tells of his early interest in simple mechanical problems and of his attempts at the solution of the same, but what is of special interest here, he relates how it was he became interested in geography and in the construction of globes and orreries. From a description of a globe he had found in ‘Gordon’s Geographical Grammar,’ as he tells us, “I made a globe in three weeks turning the ball thereof out of a piece of wood.” This he covered with paper and delineated thereon the map of the world. He was happy to find, as he says, “that by using the globe, which was the first I ever saw, I could solve the problems.” In his second attempt at globe making, his boyish ingenuity particularly exhibited itself. Finding two large globular stones on the top of a neighbor’s gate-posts, he painted on one of these, with oil colors, a map of the terrestrial globe, and on the other a map of the celestial, from a planisphere of the stars which he had copied on paper from a celestial globe belonging to a neighboring gentleman. “The poles of the painted globes stood toward the poles of the heavens. On each the twenty-four hours were placed around the equinoctial so as to show the time of day when the sun shone out, by the boundary where the half of the globe at any time enlightened by the sun was parted from the other half in the shade: the enlightened parts of the terrestrial globe answering to the like enlightened parts of the earth at all times: so that whenever the sun shone on the globe one might see to what place the sun was then rising, to what place it was setting, and all the places where it was then day or night, throughout the earth.”
Fig. 127. Portrait of James Ferguson.
Turning his attention especially to the movements of the stars, he contrived an orrery to show the motions of the earth and the moon, of the sun and the planets, both diurnal and annual, and it was in his first literary attempt, published in the year 1746, that he described ‘The Use of a New Orrery.’ Ferguson published many works on scientific subjects, lectured extensively before learned societies, was honored with the royal bounty of King George III, and became a member of the Royal Society without initiatory or annual fees.
Of globes constructed by Ferguson other than those he contrived in his boyhood days, eight copies are known. In the collection of The Hispanic Society of America (Fig. [127a]), there appears to be a unique example of his first published globe work, constructed perhaps as early as the year 1750, since it records the route followed by the Englishman, George Anson, in circumnavigating the earth in his expedition or expeditions of the years 1740-1744, and omits reference to the expeditions of Captain Cook. The terrestrial globe, a solid wooden ball, 7 cm. in diameter, is enclosed in a black leather covering, on the inner surface of which is pasted an engraved gore map of the celestial sphere. It appears to be constructed as were those referred to by Moxon in his catalogue of globes which were “made and sold by himself on Ludgate Hill,” that is, “concave hemispheres of the Starry Orb which serve for a case to a Terrestrial Globe of 3 inches in diameter, made portable for the Pocket.” The covering of this Ferguson globe is made to open on the line of the celestial equator. In a neat cartouch placed in the North Pacific is the author and title legend reading, “A New Globe of the Earth by James Ferguson.” The meridians are drawn at intervals of fifteen degrees, the prime meridian passing through Greenwich, and the parallels are drawn at intervals of ten degrees, being graduated on the meridian of 145 degrees west, excepting the tropics and the polar circles, which are drawn in their proper latitudes, respectively 23½ degrees from the equator and 23½ degrees from the poles. Ferguson followed such geographical records as were laid down by Hondius in his world map of the year 1611, or by Greuter in his globe map of the year 1632 in the North Pacific region, indicating there the existence of a great expanse of ocean, between northwest North America and northeast Asia. “Anian St.” is marked as separating a somewhat indefinitely outlined coast from America. The Antarctic continent is altogether omitted; the only inscription appearing in that region is “The South Pole.” Geographical names are as numerous as one could expect to find them on a globe of such small dimensions.
Fig. 127a. Pocket Globe of James Ferguson, 1750 (?).
The figures on the celestial map pasted on the inner surface of the terrestrial globe covering representing the several constellations have been very artistically drawn. Both the terrestrial and the celestial parts of this combination globe are remarkably well preserved. A second and later example of this Ferguson globe may be found in the Harvard University Library, once belonging to Ebenezer Storer of the class of 1747. It came into the possession of the University in the year 1914. In addition to the globes of Ferguson, just described, two pairs are known, dated each 1782, subsequent to the author’s death, it will be noted, each having a diameter of 30 cm. These are mounted in the usual manner with wooden horizon and brass meridian circles, with support base columns of wood. On the terrestrial globes English
is the language employed, while all names of the constellations on the celestial globes are in Latin. As on the small terrestrial globe in The Hispanic Society’s collection, the route of Admiral Anson is indicated, omitting that of Captain Cook, and numerous brief legends are given referring to various geographical discoveries. One pair of these globes may be found in the Biblioteca Comunale of Palermo and the other pair in the Osservatorio Meteorico of Syracuse.
Fig. 127b. Terrestrial Globe of Herman Moll, 1705.