SIGNED HARRIS'S, LONDON AND DATED 1836

William Harris II (fl. 1818-43) 'optician and globe maker to the King' is recorded at his Cornhill address between 1831 and 1835. He was "associated with many other [instrument makers], from whom he obtained stock" (Clifton, Gloria Directory Of British Scientific Instrument Makers 1550-1851, London, 1995, p.126). While the paper is dated to 1836, it is likely that this was updated as was customary to reflect the current geography, as the globe stands are of an earlier style of around 1800. A pattern sheet issued by rival globe-makers William Bardin and Son in 1798 shows a frame of virtually identical form (see The World In Your Hands: An Exhibition of Globes and Planetaria from the Collection of Rudolf Schmidt, Christie's, 1994, p.33, no.3.4).