WRIGHT, Gabriel, (1740-1803) and BARDIN, William (1740-1798), London

Details

WRIGHT, Gabriel, (1740-1803) and BARDIN, William (1740-1798), London
WRIGHT'S New Improv'd CELESTIAL GLOBE On which the Stars are correctly laid down from the Observations of Dr HALLEY, Dr BRADLEY, & co. Made & Sold by Wm. Bardin, No:4, Hind Court, Fleet Street, LONDON.
A 12-inch (30.5cm.) diameter celestial globe made up of twelve delicately hand-coloured engraved gores laid to the ecliptic poles, the equatorial, COLURUS SOLSTITIORUM, and COLURUS EQUINOCTIORUM graduated in degrees, the ecliptic graduated in days and showing symbols for the houses of the Zodiac, the constellations depicted by mythical beasts and figures and scientific instruments and labelled in Latin, the stars to seven orders of magnitude, some labelled in Latin, some within constellations labelled with Greek characters, a separate inscription on the southern ecliptic polar circle Publish'd according to Act of Parliament by G. Wright & Wm. Bardin Jan.y 1st 1782., the northern celestial polar circle with printed hour dial with numbers 1-12 twice clockwise, numbers I-XII twice anti-clockwise, a brass pointer attached to the axis through the celestial poles, the brass meridian circle divided in four quadrants and graduated in degrees on one side only, the delicately hand-coloured horizon circle graduated in degrees, days of the month and days of the houses of the Zodiac and showing compass directions, names of the months and symbols, pictures and names for the houses of the Zodiac, edged in red, a removable mahogany handle protruding at 0 east, designed to keep the sphere in a fixed position, the four mahogany supports to carved and turned pillar, the three cabriole legs terminating in pad feet -- 24in. (61cm.) high

See Colour Illustration and Detail

Literature

CLIFTON, Gloria, Directory of Scientific Instrument Makers (London, 1995)
DEKKER, Elly and van der KROGT, Peter, Globes From The Western World (London, 1993) pp.114-116
MILLBURN, John R. and RSSAAK, Tor E., 'The Bardin Family, globe-makers in London, and their associate, Gabriel Wright' in Der Globusfreund no. 40/1 (Berlin, 1992) pp.21-57

Lot Essay

Gabriel Wright (1740-1803) was an apprentice of Benjamin Martin (1704-1782), working in the latter's shop for eighteen years, and presumably making many of the Martin globes up until around 1780, when he entered into collaboration with the powerful firm of Bardin & Son, run by William Bardin (1740-1798). On Wright's death, Bardin's son Thomas (1768-1819) came into the business, and he in turn was succeeded by his son-in-law Samuel S. Edkins (1791-1853). William Bardin 'made & sold' Wright's globes, and it would appear that his globes were also sold by other English instrument-makers: "names such as Adams, Dollond, Hurter, Souter and especially W.&S. Jones, are found on what are basically Bardin globes" (Millburn).
Dekker and Van Der Krogt illustrate the cartouche from a Ferguson globe, improved by Wright and published by Bardin, from 1782, and note that it gives "a neat summary of a piece of London globe history in a nutshell. James Ferguson (1710-76), who bought most of the copper plates of Senex's globes in 1755, also made new globes: 'Mr. Senex's terrestrial globe, new drawn and improved... by James Ferguson'. In 1757, he handed the globe trade over to Benjamin Martin (1704-82), although the names 'Senex' and 'Ferguson' remained linked with the globes for commercial reasons. In 1782, Gabriel Wright (d.1803/4), Martin's assistant, drew some new globes, which he still called 'Ferguson's terrestrial globe'. This globe was published by William Bardin (c.1740-98)".

More from Globes and Planetaria

View All

View All