Accession No
3762
Brief Description
18-inch celestial globe, by G. Philip and Son Ltd., English, 1900 (c)
Origin
England; London; 32 Fleet Street
Maker
G. Philip and Son Ltd.
Class
astronomy
Earliest Date
1900
Latest Date
1900
Inscription Date
Material
wood (mahogany); paper; metal (white metal)
Dimensions
height 530mm; diameter 450mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from Christie's, London, England; lot 16. 14/12/1989.
Inscription
‘SMITH’S CELESTIAL GLOBE Containing all the
principal Stars Compiled from the Works of
WOLLASTON, FLAMSTEAD, DE LA CAILLE, HAVELIUS,
MAYER, BRADLEY, HERSCHEL, MASKELYNE, the
Transactions of the ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY of LONDON
& CO. & CO., Made in Great Britain G. PHILIP & SON
Ltd, 32 FLEET ST., LONDON E.C.’
Description Notes
18-inch celestial globe, plaster sphere and printed paper gores, by G. Philip & Son Ltd, c. 1900.
Globe set on mahogany stand. Varnished paper gores overprinted with the constellations, stars shown by magnitude and pictorial representations of the constellations. Ecliptic marked on globe; also equator and meridian lines by green lines. Steel boss at north pole. Steel polar caps.
Complete
References
Events
Description
Celestial globes model the location of fixed stars, or unmoving celestial bodies, in relation to one another. Celestial globes were helpful in solving some astronomical problems, but were often not large or accurate enough to be practically useful. Ornately illustrated celestial globes such as this one would have been produced primarily as decorative objects for the home or office. On this globe, pictorial representations show both the forty-eight major constellations identified by the Roman scholar Ptolemy, such as Orion the hunter and the Greek hero Hercules, alongside more modern constellations such as Telescopium Herschellii (Herschel’s Telescope), first identified by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1713–1762) in the eighteenth century. George Philip & Sons, the firm that produced this globe, was founding in 1834 in Liverpool and was primarily a publisher of maps and atlases. The establishment of the firm’s London Geological Institute functioned as a production-house for maps and atlases and enabled Philip & Sons to venture into globe manufacturing in 1902.
14/01/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 14/01/2014
FM:43644
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