Accession No

4608

Brief Description

5-inch terrestrial jigsaw puzzle globe, in pieces, assembles in layers, by Charles Kapp, German, 1875 (c)

Origin

Germany; Nuremburg

Maker

Kapp, Charles

Class

cartography

Earliest Date

1875

Latest Date

1875

Inscription Date

Material

wood (at least two types); paper; metal (brass)

Dimensions

height 195mm; diameter 132mm box length 235mm; breadth 180mm; height 118mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Purchased.

Inscription

‘Geographical Studies.’ (lid of the box)

Description Notes

5-inch terrestrial jigsaw globe in pieces that assembles in layers, by Kapp, 2/2 19th C. Made from 22 sections of wood covered with printed paper.

Children’s educative toy called “Geographical Studies”. Wooden box with painted lid (Wh 4608.1), depicting tutor instructing two children in the use of the globe; brass hinges and hook fasteners. Inside is stored a wooden stand (Wh 4608.2) with two circular pieces (wood covered with printed paper) and 22 circle sectors of differing sizes (Wh 4608.3 - Wh 4608.24) that form circular layers that build one on top of the other small then larger then small to form the spherical form of a globe of the world. The polar caps are the only pieces that are formed in one section, after this there are four layers of segments. Two of these layers are broken into six equal pieces, the other two into four equal pieces. Each individual piece has on its curved edge part of the world map that forms the overall globe picture. On its top surface are images and text for one of the continents (five in all). On the lower surface is a map of the continent described on the section below.

Layer one South Pole has a top surface of images/text for Australia
Layer two top surface is Europe, underneath is map of Australia, Japan etc.
Layer three top surface is America, underneath is a map of Europe.
Layer Four top surface is Asia, underneath is a map of America.
Layer Five top surface is Africa, underneath is a map of Asia.
Layer Six the North Pole, underneath is a map of Africa.

Complete.

References

Katie Taylor; 'A jigsaw puzzle globe'; Explore Whipple Collections online article; Whipple Museum of the History of Science; University of Cambridge; 2009: https://www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-whipple-collections/globes/jigsaw-puzzle-globe

Events

Description
This jigsaw globe – composed of twenty-two paper-on-wood pieces – was intended as an educational toy. While the outside sections of the pieces compose a globe of the world, the inside sections piece together to produce illustrated descriptions of the various Continents. These reflect overtly racist themes from contemporary English textbooks, with Europe depicted as a centre of learning and culture, while Asia is portrayed as a continent where lazy masters impose rule on unfortunate servants. Such pedagogical tools helped reinforce pseudoscientific racial classifications and hierarchies--ideas that themselves helped to justify massive European imperial expansion in this era.
07/12/2020
Created by: Josh Nall on 07/12/2020

Description
Compared to earlier periods of geographical study that centred on the role of navigating the globe, nineteenth-century geography emphasized the physical character of the Earth and its inhabitants. Celestial and terrestrial globes were instructional tools for geography and increasingly featured in elementary schools as teaching aids throughout the century. This dissecting globe called ‘Geographical Studies’ was intended for a young audience to be both entertaining and education. The Earth is dissected into six horizontal layers that cut across latitudes. A map of a continent is depicted on one side of the dissected piece, and pictorial representations of people and animals of that respective continent are depicted on the other side. The latter sides also include a textual description of facts about the globe and the continent represented. Made by Charles Kapp of Nuremberg, these jigsaw globes were exported to England and France and were printed in both languages.

24/02/2014
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 24/02/2014

FM:40354