Accession No
1268
Brief Description
9-inch globe of Mars produced for Captain Hans Busk of Trinity College, Cambridge, by Malby, after the maps of Richard Proctor, 1873
Origin
Maker
Malby
Class
astronomy; demonstration
Earliest Date
1873
Latest Date
1873
Inscription Date
1873
Material
wood; paper; metal (brass)
Dimensions
diameter 230mm; height 356mm
Special Collection
Provenance
On loan from Trinity College, University of Cambridge from 1951. Belonged to and commissioned by Captain Hans Busk from 1873.
Inscription
[brass plate on stand]
‘A GLOBE
OF THE PLANET “Mars”
Scale 1 in to 450 Miles
Constructed by Captain Hans Busk,
of Trinity College Cambridge
And presented by him to his College.
MARCH 1873.’ (brass plaque on base)
Description Notes
9-inch manuscript globe of Mars, by Malby, after the maps of Richard Proctor, 1873. Produced for Captain Hans Busk. Plaster (?) with manuscript (and printed?) paper gores.
12 paper gores; hand coloured and inscribed. Callottes. Brass meridian semicircle. Turned wooden stand screws into turned wooden base; inscribed brass plaque.
Condition fair (chipping and scratching to varnish); complete.
References
Events
Description
This is the earliest known mass-produced globe of Mars. In 1873, Captain Hans Busk the Younger (1815–1882) commissioned the London firm Malby to produce a globe based on maps of Mars that Richard Proctor (1837–1888) created in 1867. Proctor was an amateur astronomer and drafted his detailed map from telescopic observation by William Rutter Dawes (1799–1868). Proctor named every notable feature on the planet after British astronomers and observers. In 1877, linear markings on the surface of Mars were observed, which sparked the idea that there were ‘canals’ on Mars, the vestige of Martian life. This globe pre-dates the Martian-canal controversy.
14/01/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 14/01/2014
FM:40158
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