A fine mid 19th-Century 3-inch diameter terrestrial pocket globe,

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Details

A fine mid 19th-Century 3-inch diameter terrestrial pocket globe,
by Wetton/Nicolas Lane, in a fishskin-covered spherical wooden case

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The globe is made up of twelve hand-coloured engraved gores and one polar calotte, with two iron axis pins with white card collars. The overlaid circular cartouche reads WETTON 21 Fleet Stt LONDON. The equatorial is graduated in degrees and in twice twelve hours in both directions; the Meridian of Greenwich is ungraduated; the meridian at 135°W is graduated in degrees; and the ecliptic is graduated in 12 times 1-30°, with sigils for the houses of the Zodiac. The oceans show various details including a windrose, the antipodes of London, trade winds, the tracks of various explorers including Cook, Anson, King and Ross, and various notes such as Variable Winds and Fields of Ice. No Antarctic continent is shown, but there is a note reading Enderbys Land 1838. The continents show nation states variously shaded or outlined in green, yellow and red, with details including cities, rivers, mountains and deserts. China shows the Great Wall in pictorial relief; Africa shows areas labelled NEGROLAND, Incognito, COUNTRY of the CAFRES and Country of Hotentots. The interior of the case is laid with two sets of twelve celestial half-gores, laid to the celestial poles, with graduated equatorial and ecliptic, the latter coloured green. The constellations are depicted by mythical beasts and figures, and Milky Way is coloured yellow. The rim of the case is painted red, and closes with three brass hooks and eyes.

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

Lot Essay

Little is known of Nicholas Lane beyond the fact that he worked from about 1775 until 1783, and is recorded in that latter year as living in Christ Church, Southwark, London. The distinctive cartography on his pocket terrestrial globes appears until well into the nineteenth century, most often with a pasted-on cartouche bearing the name of another maker or vendor. Apart from Wetton, Lane globes are also found bearing the names of Silberrad, Jacob & Halse, and others. Sometimes they are updated, and sometimes left unchanged; in this instance, the addition of Enderbys Land appears to be the only concession to sixty years of geographical discovery and cartographical progress.

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