Little is known of Nicholas Lane beyond the fact that he worked from about 1775 until 1783, and is documented in that latter year as living in Christ Church, Southwark, London. Globes by Lane are recorded at 2¾ and 3in. diameter; the celestial gores of the former (such as the example offered here) are derived from those of Richard Cushee (1696-c.1734) although they are most often found on the interior of a spherical wooden globe case. Lane appears to have engraved his own new gores for the terrestrial.
Lane globes are recorded well into the nineteenth century, although on these examples the title and maker's name appear in a circular cartouche, lacking the delicate border of the eighteenth-century issues. They are most often entitled "Lane's Improved Globe". It is likely, therefore, that the plates for Lane's original globes continued to be updated, and the variety of maker's names found on these almost identical globes suggests a currency of exchange and collaboration between the workshop and retailer. It has also been suggested that these later globes are the work of Lieutenant Michael Lane, a surveyor trained by James Cook.