It appears that Coronelli’s terrestrial globe gores of the year 1688, which were frequently reissued, were but little altered in the several editions. His celestial globe in successive issues seems to have been much altered. France had specially honored the Venetian globe maker in giving to him every facility for the production of his great masterpieces, the Marly globes. The Société Gallica of Paris decided, in the year 1693, to add to his honors, and to give expression to an appreciation of his merits through the publication of a new edition of his globes, at least of the celestial, the Venetian terrestrial of 1688 being made to serve as a companion. In the following legend we have information concerning the date, and concerning the participants in its preparation: “Orbis coelesti typus. Opus a Coronelli Serenissimae Reipublicae Cosmographo inchoatum Societatis Gallicae sumptibus absolutum, Lutetiae Parisiorum. Anno N. S. MDCXCIII. Delin. Arnoldus Deuvez Regiae Acad. Pictor; Sculp. I. B. Nolin Reg. Chr. Calcographus.” “Representation of a celestial globe. A work begun by Coronelli, the cosmographer of the Venetian Republic; finished at the expense of the French Society at Paris in the year 1693. Drawn by Arnold Deuvez painter of the Royal Academy; I. B. Nolin Royal Cartographer, draughtsman.”
The Parisian Society did not find it necessary to substitute the French language in the legends for the language of the author, as appears in the address to the reader, which of course is not Coronelli phrasing. “Amico lettore. Rappresenta questa Globo le Costellazioni del Firmamento, quali agli occhi nostri compariscono e non come negli altri esposte, poichè nel centro loro bisogna immaginarsi d’essore per intenderle. Le stelle d’esso calcolate all’Epoca 1700 sono pubblicati. Quelle comprese dalle Costellazioni di Baiero, come le più cognite, perchè con maggiore facilità si possino colle nostre confrontare, sono accompagnate cogli caratteri greci e latini da es so usati. Le stelle, ch’ appresso Baiero, restano informi, sono, da noi segnate di giallo; le Nuove colorite di minio; le osservate dal P. Antelmo di verde, quelle dell’ Hallei di pavonazzo, l’altre di Hevelio di lacca; le corrette da Baiero di Cinabro, e l’osservazioni fatte dagli altri autori si distinguono nel nostro Epitome Cosmografico, stampato in Venetia nel 1693. In questo pure vengono dilucidati gli Numeri, Caratteri, le Frezze, che passano diametralmente per le stelle, la loro Obliquità, Lunghezza, l’Acume, gli Pianeti che l’accompagnano; il moto diario delle Comete, disegnate di molti secoli, ed ogni altro perticolare che per l’angustia del sito non è permesso esprimere senza il di cui libra non possono avere uso gli Globi presenti che pure restano descritti nel nostro Atlante Veneto non però così diffusamente.” “Dear reader. This globe represents the constellations of the firmament as they appear to our eyes and not as shown by others, since it is necessary to imagine that one is in their center in order to conceive them. The stars of the globe are represented as calculated for the year 1700. Those included in the constellations of Bayer, as the best known, in order that they, with greater ease may be compared with ours, are designated by the Greek and Latin characters used by him. Stars, which according to Bayer remain undetermined, are indicated by us as yellow; the new ones colored with red; those observed by P. Antelmo, with green, those of Halley with violet, the others of Hevelius with lake color; the stars corrected by Bayer with cinnabar; and the observations made by other authors are distinguished in our Cosmographical Epitome, printed in Venice in 1693. In this also are elucidated the numbers, characters, the lines that pass diametrically through the stars, their obliquity, length, extremity, the planets that accompany them, the daily movement of the comets, traced for many centuries, and every other particular which because of the limitations of space it is not here permitted to express,—without which book it is not possible to make use of the present globes, which are also described in our Venetian Atlas, but not so detailed.”
Pairs of his globes are very numerous which include the terrestrial of the year 1688, now and then with some modifications, and the celestial of the year 1693, these being usually, but not in all instances dated, the latter being the Paris issue or apparently a slightly modified Venetian edition of the same. It must be admitted that it is not easy to classify the copies of his globes which followed his first issue of the year 1688, but which have the same dimensions. In not a few of these provision was made for a special dedication, the cartouch for such dedication being often left blank, to be filled when occasion seemed to offer for the bestowal of the special honor. Some of these globes containing such special dedication are known, to which reference is made below.
Examples of Coronelli’s work belonging to this group may be found in the following libraries or museums: In the Landesmuseum of Zürich (Fig. [114]); in the Seminario Vescovile of Aversa; in the Biblioteca Comunale of Bologna; in the Archivo di Stato of Bologna; in the Biblioteca Privato of Professor Liuzzi of Bologna; in the Convento dell’ Osservanza of Bologna; in the Museo di Strumenti Antichi of Florence; in the Museo Civico of Genoa; a copy of the celestial in the British Museum of London; in the Biblioteca Brancacciana of Naples; in the Biblioteca Nazionale of Naples; in the Biblioteca Nazionale of Palermo; in the Biblioteca Antoniana of Padua; in the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris; in the Biblioteca Classense of Ravenna; in the Biblioteca Lancisiana of Rome; in the Accademia delle Scienze of Turin; in the Seminario Patriarcale of Venice; in the Biblioteca Comunale of Vicenza; of the terrestrial in the Royal Library of Madrid. The Vicenza examples, also those in the Archivo di Stato of Bologna and in the Biblioteca Nazionale of Palermo, are dedicated to the “Eminentissimo e reverendissimo Principe” Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni. The interesting brief legend, reading “Alexander a Via Veronensis sculpsit” on the celestial globe, gives us clearly to understand that there were Venetian issues of that edition which made its first appearance in Paris under the auspices of the Société Gallica. The gores of this issue Coronelli printed in his ‘Atlante Veneto,’ Volume XI.
Fig. 114. Terrestrial Globe of P. Vincenzo Coronelli, 1688.
In the year 1696 Coronelli made an extensive European tour which carried him as far as England, an account of which he published in Venice in the following year under the title ‘Viaggio de Venezia fino in Inghilterra.’ In this work the author describes an edition of his globes which he referred to as having a diameter of “un piede e mezzo,” or about 48 cm., prepared in London and dedicated to the English King William III, of which it has been possible to locate several examples. A particularly fine copy of the terrestrial may be found in the collection of The Hispanic Society of America (Fig. [115]), agreeing in all its details with the other copies, in so far, at least, as the information obtained seems to indicate. In an elaborately decorated cartouch near the south polar region is the dedicatory inscription, reading “Globum hujusmodi Terraqueum Guglielmo invictissimo ac potentissimo Magnae Britaniae etc. Regi Dicat, Vocat. consecrat. Pater, Magister Vincentius Coronelli Mon. Con. S. Francisci Serenissimae Venetorum Reipublicae Cosmographus MDCLXXXXVI. Londini.” “This terrestrial globe, Father and Master Vincentio Coronelli, Brother of the Franciscan Order and Cosmographer of the Venetian Republic, dedicates, names and consecrates to William III, the Invincible and Mighty King of Great Britain.” Not far from the above is a somewhat elaborate representation of the king’s coat of arms with the motto “Hony soit qui mal y pense. Je maintienderay.” Its mounting consists of a narrow graduated meridian circle of wood which is made to pass, in the usual manner, through a horizon circle of wood, the outer edge of which is octagonal. The upper surface of this horizon circle is covered with an engraved horizon sheet giving within concentric circles the names of the zodiacal constellations, names of the months with the names of the prominent saints, the names of the principal winds, and of the principal directions in Italian. It has a supporting base of four artistically turned columns with binding crossbars extending from each post to a central circular plate 17 cm. in diameter, carrying the post through a slot in which the meridian circle is made to pass. The north pole is topped with a thin pasteboard hour circle and pointer. The globe map is composed of twelve gores which are truncated in latitude 80 degrees both north and south, the polar spaces being covered with circular discs, and are cut on the line of the equator. The sphere is exceedingly light in weight, being composed of papier-mâché. In every particular the globe is one remarkably well preserved, and is one of the finest examples of early globe making in the society’s collection.
