Lot 127
127
A fine pair of 19th-Century 15-inch English library globes,
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more
A fine pair of 19th-Century 15-inch English library globes,

Details
A fine pair of 19th-Century 15-inch English library globes,
by the Cary family, London, 1818/1832 -- 99.1cm. (39in.) high

See Colour Illustration

The terrestrial CARY'S NEW TERRESTRIAL GLOBE Drawn from the most recent GEOGRAPHICAL WORKS, shewing the whole of the New Discoveries with the TRACKS of the PRINCIPAL NAVIGATORS and every improvement in Geography to the Present Time. LONDON. London. Published by G. & J. Cary, St James's, St. Jany7th1832. The sphere is made up of two sets of twelve hand-coloured engraved gores on a wood and plaster sphere. The watermark WILMOT 1830 is visible in some places. The equatorial is graduated in degress of amplitude and azimuth and in hours and minutes; the four meridians are graduated in degrees; the ecliptic is graduated in 12 times 1-30° with sigils. The oceans show an analemma, seasonal passages in the Indian Ocean, and the tracks of explorers such as Cook, Vancouver, Butler, Furneaux, la Perouse, Gore, Ross and Clerke with notes and dates. The Antarctic shows no coastline, but two notes reading Islands & Firm Fields of Ice and 71°10' the most SouthnLatitude of Capt. Cook Vast Islands and firm Fields of Ice. The continents show pale orange, green and yellow shading for the nation states, with some faint remains of outlining. Details include: towns, cities, trivers, mountains, deserts and the great Wall of China. Australia shows the boundary between New Holland and New South Wales; Africa shows oases and copper mines, the Mountains of the Moon, NIME AMAY and UNKNOWN PARTS; North America shows territories of nations such as the Snake, Fall, Blackfoot, Rocky Mountain and Dog Rib Indians, and California is labelled Unexplored Countries (neat repair around the equator with some detail loss; some other areas of repaired cracking);
the celestial CARY'S NEW CELESTIAL GLOBE, ON WHICH are carefully laid down the whole of the STARS AND NEBULAE contained in the Catalogues of Wollaston, Herschel, Bode, Piazzi, Zach &c. calculated to the Year 1820. Made & Sold by J. & W. Cary 181 Strand, London 1818. The sphere is made up of two sets of twelve hand-coloured engraved gores laid to the ecliptic poles laid on a wood and plaster sphere, with the axis through the celestial poles. The equatorial is graduated in degrees, hours and minutes; the colures are graduated in degress; and the ecliptic with twilight zone is graduated in days of the month with names and 12 times 1-30° with sigils. A table shows the stars to eight orders of magnitude, with nebulae, and a note below the cartouche explains the labelling with numbers, Greek characters, underlining and initials. The constellations are depicted by mythical beasts and figures and scientific instruments;
both spheres have an engraved brass hour dial and meridian circle. The hand-coloured engraved paper horizon shows degrees of amplitude and azimuth, compass directions, days of the month and of the houses of the Zodiac. It is applied to a mahogany ring with red-painted edge, supported on four quadrant supports to a central turned column with three inswept legs with castors. A glazed compass is suspended between the legs signed in both cases J. & W. CARY STRAND LONDON, with a thirty-two point wind rose, graduations in both directions and a blued-steel needle. (2)
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis This lot is subject to Collection and Storage charges

Lot Essay

The Cary family firm of globe-makers was founded in the late eighteenth century by John Cary (1755-1835). The son of a Wiltshire maltster, Cary was in the engraving and map-selling business from about 1782 at Johnson's Court, Fleet Street, London and then at the Corner of Arundel Street, Strand. He had previously been apprenticed to William Palmer and become a freeman in 1778. The first globes by Cary were advertised in the Traveller's Companion in January 1791. The advertisement mentions that the 3½, 9, 12 and 21in. diameter terrestrial and celestial globes were made "from entire new Plates", presumably a proud boast for a maker launching his globes on the market for the first time, in a climate were the copper plates for gores were commonly bought or inherited and altered or otherwise amended. The address of the company at this time was 181 Strand, and the company was commonly known as J. & W. Cary, to recognise the contribution of John's brother William (c.1759-1825). Both brothers produced a number of instruments and maps aside from their globes and in all projects other than their globes, the brothers operated as separate business entities. William himself was primarily an optician and nautical instrument maker, having been apprenticed to Jesse Ramsden and had his own premises further down the Strand at numbers 272 (until 1790) and at 182.
The Cary family swiftly became one of the leading London globe-makers along with the family firms of Newton and Bardin; 1816 saw the introduction of an 18in. pair to their range, and in 1820, William moved into the premises at 181 Strand and John moved to 86 St James's Street. John's two sons George (c.1788-1859) and John (1791-1852) also moved into 181 Strand in 1822 where they conducted their own business making and selling globes. When John snr. died in 1835 the company was run by Henry Gould, although it retained the trading name of William Cary until 1890, the Post Office directory recording Cary & Co. at 7 Pall Mall in 1892, and then Cary, Porter & Co. at the same address from 1894-1904.

More from SCIENTIFIC, MEDICAL AND ENGINEERING WORKS OF ART

View All
View All