Accession No

6537

Brief Description

8-inch “Kosmos-Baukasten Astronomie” glass celestial globe with miniature terrestrial globe inside, by Kosmos, Gesellschaft der Naturfreunde, German, 1925

Origin

Germany; Stuttgart

Maker

Kosmos, Gesellschaft der Naturfreunde (Franckh’sche Verlagshandlung) [manufacturer] Westphal, C. [designer]

Class

astronomy; demonstration

Earliest Date

1925

Latest Date

1925

Inscription Date

Material

metal (brass, steel, tin?); glass; plastic; paint

Dimensions

31cm (w) x 32cm (d) x 42.5cm (h)

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased from Dorotheum Auction House, Palais Dorotheum, A-1010 Wien, Dorotheergasse 17, Austria. Dorotheum, Antique Scientific Instruments and Models sale, 11/11/2013, lot no. 1.

Inscription

KOSMOSBAUKASTEN
ASTRONOMIE
D.R.P.

Description Notes

8-inch “Kosmos-Baukasten Astronomie” glass celestial globe with miniature terrestrial globe inside, by Kosmos, Gesellschaft der Naturfreunde, German, 1925. Part of an astronomical construction kit designed by Dr. C Westphal.

8-inch glass celestial sphere, painted on the outside with white lines of celestial equator, diurnal circles at 22.5 degree intervals, hour circles at 90 degree intervals, the equator band graduated every 90 degrees, the lowest diurnal circle (50 degrees latitude south) graduated into 24 one-hour sections. Also painted onto the sphere is an ecliptic band in black, and major stars and nebulae in white. Sitting on the outside of the sphere are transparent plastic bands that run around the celestial equator (band graduated by single degrees and labelled every 10 degrees), held in place by two clear ungraduated bands that run over the hour circles, fixed together at the north celestial pole. Also affixed to these bands at the north celestial pole is a band running north to south (ending at the celestial equator), able to rotate freely, and graduated by single degrees and labelled every 10 degrees. Encircling the entire globe is another clear plastic band, inscribed with a straight ungraduated black line, running north south over the celestial pole (presumably intended to mark 0 degrees longitude?), and attached to the globe’s mount.

Just below the 50 degrees south diurnal circle, the globe is mounted into a sturdy iron mount, with ring clasp tightened by brass thumb screw. ring clasp attaches to an iron frame with semicircular base with three adjustable screw feet (thumb turn of front left foot is missing). Inside the glass celestial globe at the level of the ring clasp is a brass disk with a 360 degree scale (graduated by single degrees and labelled every 10 degrees), and a 24-hour clock scale (graduated every 4 minutes, labelled every 20 minutes). Protruding from the centre of this disk is a steel rod, running from the south celestial pole and holding at the centre of the glass sphere a miniature (tin?) terrestrial globe, painted with lines of longitude and latitude and coloured continents with some labelling. This rod runs through the disk and out of the globe, with a brass handle at its end enabling manual rotation of the terrestrial globe. Another rod runs through the disk at near vertical, with pointed end inside and brass handle outside for adjusting height of pointer.

Incomplete

References

Events