William and Alexander Keith Johnston both worked for the Scottish globemakers Kirkwood & Sons until 1824, and then set up their own business in 1825, successfully publishing globes from the middle to the end of the 19th century. Dekker and van der Krogt state that: "The physical version [of their 30-inch globe] was the first of its kind made in Great Britain, and it won a number of medals at the Great Exhibition".