Lot Essay
The terrestial globe would seem to date from the mid 19th century, as Alaska, which was bought by America in 1867, is marked RUSSIAN AMERICA. Fletcher exhibited a pair of globes and the instruments used for making globes at the Great Exhibition of 1851, including an iron mould of which the jury commented: "by the adoption of iron instead of wood, the material generally used, all danger of warping is avoided, and much time is consequently saved". They also noted that: "the globes are well made and finished" (vol. II, p. 676).