A good pair of mid 18th-Century 3-inch diameter English pocket globes

attributable to George Adams, after Hermann Moll

Details

A good pair of mid 18th-Century 3-inch diameter English pocket globes
attributable to George Adams, after Hermann Moll
the terrestrial A Correct GLOBE with the new Discoveries made up of twelve hand-coloured engraved gores and two polar calottes, the equatorial graduated in degrees and hours, the ecliptic graduated in 12x 1-30° with sigils for the houses of the Zodiac, the prime meridian of Fero graduated in degrees, the oceans showing currents, a wind rose in the southern Indian Ocean and the track of Cook's 1760 voyage, the continents with nation states shaded in yellow, pink and green and showing forests and mountains in pictorial relief, rivers and deserts, North America with no northern coastline and labelled Parts Unknown, Australia shown joined to Tasmania, Greenland with no northern coastline;
the celestial A Correct Globe with ye New Constellations of Dr Halley &c made up of two sets of twelve half gores, some further halved, and two polar calottes laid to the celestial poles, the equatorial, ecliptic and equinoctial colure graduated in degrees and coloured red, the ecliptic labelled only with sigils for the houses of the Zodiac, the constellations depicted by mythical beasts and figures and named in Latin, the stars to five orders of magnitude;
both spheres in a (later) engraved brass meridian circle and (later) Dutch-style miniature pale mahogany table stand with hand-drawn horizon paper showing days of the month and of the houses of the Zodiac, four turned legs and cross stretchers to meridian support
4½in. (11.4cm.) high (2)

Lot Essay

This pair of "anonymous" pocket globes is well known and identifiable as identical to those of Herman Moll (fl.1678-1732) of 1719, aside from minor alterations to the text of each of the two cartouches ("the New Discoveries" and "Dr Halley &c." replacing "ye Trade Winds by H. Moll" and "Mr Hevelius.1719" respectively). The terrestrial globe has been found in a tellurion by George Adams, and it has therefore been suggested that it was he who altered, updated and reissued the globes; since Moll's plates passed to Adams' nearest rival John Senex, and thence, via the latter's widow, the plates for the pocket globe passed to George Adams, this is perfectly possible. They are usually found in the more conventional setting of a pocket terrestrial globe in a spherical fishskin case, the interior of which is lined with the celestial gores found on the corresponding sphere in this Lot; the unusual cutting of some of the celestial gores here suggests this is perhaps how this pair was originally mounted

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