Chapter XII

76See II,34.

77Fiorini, op. cit., p. 323.

78Christina, daughter of Gustavus Adolphus; succeeded her father as ruler of Sweden. In the year 1654 she abdicated the throne, became a devout Catholic and passed a considerable part of her remaining years in Rome,134residing at first in the Palazzo Farnese, and later in the Palazzo Riario, bringing together in the latter place of residence a large collection of books and objects of art. Much of her collection later passed to the Vatican.

79Fiorini, op. cit., p. 323.

80Seenote 9,above.

81Coronelli, op. cit., pp. 325-330; Dictionary of National Biography, “Palmer, Roger” (Count of Castlemaine), to which is appended a somewhat lengthy list of bibliographical references.

82Moxon, J. The English globe, being a stabil and immobil one, performing what the ordinary globes do, and much more. Invented and described by the Right honorable, the Earl of Castlemaine. The second edition corrected by J. Moxon. London, 1696.

83Coronelli, op. cit., p. 333.

84It has been impossible to locate a copy of this work or to get further information concerning Treffler.

85Fiorini, op. cit., p. 376.

86Fiorini, op. cit., p. 377.

87Briefly described in a letter received by the author from the Biblioteca Estense of Modena.

88Fiorini, M. Vincenzo Coronelli ed i suoi globi cosmografici. (In: Annuario Astro-Meteorologico. Roma, 1893.); Rigobon. Biografia e studi del P. Vincenzo Coronelli. (In: Archivo Veneto, Vol. III, pt. i, p. 267.); Ginanni, P. P. Memorie storico critiche degli scrittori Ravennati. Faenza, 1769. Vol. I, p. 162; Pasolini, S. Huomini illustri di Ravenna antica ed altri degni professori di lettere ed armi. Bologna, 1703. p. 63.

89Among his more important works the following may here be cited: Atlante Veneto, nel quale si contiene la descrittione ... degl’ Imperij. Regni, Provincie, e Stati dell’ Universo. Venetia, 1691-1696. 3 Vols. in 4 pts.; Biblioteca universale sacro-profano, antico-moderna. Venezia, 1701-1706. Vols. I-VIII, but not completed beyond “Caque”; Epitome Cosmografica, o compendiosa introduttione all’ Astronomia, Geographia, et Idrografia. Colonia, 1693; Viaggi del P. C. Venetia, 1697: The Royal Almanack: containing a succinct account of the remarkable actions of K. William III: with the year and the day of the month when each happened. Tr. from Italian into English. London, 1696. See also Giannini, G. Titoli della opere ... stampate dal anno 1704, dal P. M. C. ... publicate dall’ Accademia degli Argonauti in aggiunta dell’ indice già dato in luce. Venetia, 1708.

90Not until the following century does it appear that such societies were organized north of the Alps.

91See list given by Coronelli, Epitome, in introductory pages under heading “Catalogo ...”

92See Coronelli. Epitome.

93This privilege is quoted by Coronelli, Epitome, in introductory pages.

94Coronelli. Epitome, pp. 334-342.

95La Hire, P. de. Description et explication des Globes qui sont placés dans les pavillons du Château de Marly par ordre de Sa Majesté. Paris, 1704.

96Born September 16, 1638.

97Ludolf, H. Jobi Ludolfi ... ad suam historiam Aetiopicam ante hac editam commentarius. Francforti ad Moenum, 1691. p. 22.

98Marcel, G. Les Portugais dans l’Africe Australe. (In: Revue de Géographie. Paris, 1890.)135

99This château was erected in the year 1693.

100Cited by Fiorini, op. cit., p. 338.

101Viaggi, del P. C. p. 28. He gives us in this work a statement of prices for his globes as follows:“Globes of various sizes.Celestial and terrestrial three and one half feet in diameter, with the addition of many stars and of newly discovered lands, painted and varnished, without supports, 100 ducatsL.260:The same with their supports and with meridian of brass1240:The same one foot and a half in diameter with their pedestals and with brass meridians155:The same six and a half inches diameter with feet and with meridisnsL.31:The same four and a half inches in diameter with their feet and with meridians24:16:The same two and a half inches in diameter with their feet and with meridians18:12”

101Viaggi, del P. C. p. 28. He gives us in this work a statement of prices for his globes as follows:

Celestial and terrestrial three and one half feet in diameter, with the addition of many stars and of newly discovered lands, painted and varnished, without supports, 100 ducats

The same with their supports and with meridian of brass

The same one foot and a half in diameter with their pedestals and with brass meridians

The same six and a half inches diameter with feet and with meridisns

The same four and a half inches in diameter with their feet and with meridians

The same two and a half inches in diameter with their feet and with meridians

102Fiorini, op. cit., p. 378.

103Fiorini, op. cit., p. 379.

104Fiorini, op. cit., p. 370.

105Porena, F. Un cartografo italiano del principio del secolo XVIII. (In: Memorie della Società geog. ital. Roma, 1895. Vol. V, pt. 1, p. 45.)

106Published in Mediolani, 1712.

107Bernardo, F. da Bologna. Biblioteca Scriptorum Ordinis Minorum S. Francisci Capucinorum. Venetiis, 1747.

108Doppelmayr, op. cit., p. 127.

109Laland states that these fifty-seven came into the possession of the Jesuit College of Polotzk in Russia.

110Eimmarto, G. C. Sphaerae armillaris a Georgio Christophoro Eimmarto ex aurichalco constitutae, interius systema planetarum ex mente Copernici repraesentatis, brevis elucidatio, Ed. Jo. Christ. Sturmio-Altdorfii, 1695.

111Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. XXXIX, p. 242.

112This work was first published in London in the year 1599.

113As a result of Moxon’s interest in this field we have from him one of the most satisfactory of the early manuals of typography, bearing the title ‘Mechanick Exercises or the Doctrine of Handy-Works applied to the Art of Printing,’ London, 1683. This work was reprinted, “line-for-line and page-for-page” of the original, with preface and notes by Theodore L. Devinne. New York, 1896. 2 Vols.

114It is from the last-mentioned work that the following citations are made:“Books. Moxon, J. A Tutor to Astronomy and Geography, or the Use of both the Globes, Celestial and Terrestrial; by Joseph Moxon, A Member of the Royal Society, and Hydrographer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty. Price 5s.The Use of the Copernican Spheres, teaching to solve the Phaenomena by them, as easily as by the Ptolomaick Spheres; by Joseph Moxon, &c. Price 4s.The Use of Astronomical Playing Cards, teaching an ordinary capacity by them to be acquainted with all the Stars of Heaven; to know their places, Colours, Natures and Bignesses. Also the Poetical Reasons for every Constellation.136Very useful, pleasant and delightful for all lovers of Ingeniety. By Joseph Moxon, &c. Price 6d.The Astronomical Cards. By Joseph Moxon, &c. Price plain 1s. Coloured 1s. 6d. best coloured, and the Stars Gilt, 5s.Geographical Playing Cards, wherein is exactly described all the Kingdoms of the Earth, curiously engraved. Price Plain 1s. Coloured 2s. best Coloured and Gilt 5s. the Pack.The English Globe, invented by the Right Honourable, the Earl of Castlemaine (and of which this Book shews the use) containing about a Foot in Diameter, are made by Joseph Moxon. Price ordinary made up 40s. and with the projection described in Section 6. of this Book. Price 50s.To the above is added the following interesting information:A Catalogue of GLOBES, Celestial and Terrestrial, Spheres, Maps, Sea-Plates, Mathematical Instruments, and Books, with their prizes, made and sold by Joseph Moxon, on Ludgate-Hill, at the Sign of Atlas.GLOBES 26 Inches Diameter. The price 20l. the Pair.GLOBES near 15 Inches Diameter. The Price 4l.GLOBES 8 Inches Diameter. The price 2l.GLOBES 6 Inches Diameter. The price 1l. 10s.CONCAVE HEMISPHERES of the Starry Orb, which serves for a Case to a Terrestrial Globe of 3 Inches Diameter, made portable for the pocket. Price 15s.SPHERES, according to the Copernican Hypothesis, both General and Particular, 20 Inches Diameter. Price of the General 5l. of the Particular 6l. of both together 10l.SPHERES, according to the Ptolomaick System, 14 Inches Diameter. Price 3l.SPHERES, according to the Ptolomaick System, 8 Inches Diameter. Price 1l. 10s.”

114It is from the last-mentioned work that the following citations are made:

“Books. Moxon, J. A Tutor to Astronomy and Geography, or the Use of both the Globes, Celestial and Terrestrial; by Joseph Moxon, A Member of the Royal Society, and Hydrographer to the Kings most Excellent Majesty. Price 5s.

The Use of the Copernican Spheres, teaching to solve the Phaenomena by them, as easily as by the Ptolomaick Spheres; by Joseph Moxon, &c. Price 4s.

The Use of Astronomical Playing Cards, teaching an ordinary capacity by them to be acquainted with all the Stars of Heaven; to know their places, Colours, Natures and Bignesses. Also the Poetical Reasons for every Constellation.136Very useful, pleasant and delightful for all lovers of Ingeniety. By Joseph Moxon, &c. Price 6d.

The Astronomical Cards. By Joseph Moxon, &c. Price plain 1s. Coloured 1s. 6d. best coloured, and the Stars Gilt, 5s.

Geographical Playing Cards, wherein is exactly described all the Kingdoms of the Earth, curiously engraved. Price Plain 1s. Coloured 2s. best Coloured and Gilt 5s. the Pack.

The English Globe, invented by the Right Honourable, the Earl of Castlemaine (and of which this Book shews the use) containing about a Foot in Diameter, are made by Joseph Moxon. Price ordinary made up 40s. and with the projection described in Section 6. of this Book. Price 50s.

To the above is added the following interesting information:

A Catalogue of GLOBES, Celestial and Terrestrial, Spheres, Maps, Sea-Plates, Mathematical Instruments, and Books, with their prizes, made and sold by Joseph Moxon, on Ludgate-Hill, at the Sign of Atlas.

GLOBES 26 Inches Diameter. The price 20l. the Pair.

GLOBES near 15 Inches Diameter. The Price 4l.

GLOBES 8 Inches Diameter. The price 2l.

GLOBES 6 Inches Diameter. The price 1l. 10s.

CONCAVE HEMISPHERES of the Starry Orb, which serves for a Case to a Terrestrial Globe of 3 Inches Diameter, made portable for the pocket. Price 15s.

SPHERES, according to the Copernican Hypothesis, both General and Particular, 20 Inches Diameter. Price of the General 5l. of the Particular 6l. of both together 10l.

SPHERES, according to the Ptolomaick System, 14 Inches Diameter. Price 3l.

SPHERES, according to the Ptolomaick System, 8 Inches Diameter. Price 1l. 10s.”

115The following works may be cited for further reference to these early Chinese globes of Peking: Wylie, A. Mongol astronomical instruments in Peking. (In: Chinese Researches, Shantung, 1897, Part III, pp. 1-20.); Le Comte, L. D. Memories and Observations. London, 1699; Du Halde, J. B. Description géographique de l’empire de la China. Paris, 1735; Yule, H. Travels of Marco Polo. London, 1893. Vol. I, pp. 448-456, with four illustrations.

116Carton, Abbé C. Biographique sur le Père Ferdinand Verbiest. Bruges, 1839; Thompson, J. Illustrations of China and its people. London, 1874. Vol. iv.

Activities of Guillaume Delisle.—Jean Dominique Cassini and his reforms.—Vincenzo Miot.—The globes of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk.—Activities of John Senex.—Nicolas Bion.—The armillary sphere of Carmelo Cartilia.—Mattheus Seutter of Augsburg.—Robert Morden.—Jean Antoine Nollet.—Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr of Nürnberg.—Terrestrial globe of Cusani.—Terrestrial globes of Siena.—The work of the monk Pietro Maria da Vinchio.—James Ferguson of Scotland.

AMONGthe numerous globe makers of the eighteenth century, there are few, if any, entitled to rank with Blaeu or Hondius, with Greuter or Coronelli of the seventeenth. There was much written during the period, it is true, on the value of globes in geographical and astronomical studies, and there were many globes constructed, of which a very considerable number still have a place in our libraries, museums, and private collections.

With the improvements in scientific map construction, improvements amounting to a complete reformation, and ushered in during the closing years of the seventeenth century and the opening years of the eighteenth, by such men as Riccioli, Picard, Cassini, and Delisle, not to mention a number of their distinguished immediate predecessors and contemporaries, the last above-named working through thepatronage of the Royal Academy of Science of France,117—with these improvements there appears to have been a decline in the relative value which the late sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries set upon globes. Once regarded as an essential part of a seaman’s instruments for use in navigation, they gave place, just as the portolan chart of the earlier day gave place, to an improved sailor’s chart. Globe makers, however, of this period, such as Delisle and Bion, as Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, as Vaugondy and Fortin, as Ferguson and Adams, have an honorable place in the history of globes and of globe construction.

France was leading at the turn of the seventeenth century in the field of geographical and astronomical science, a fact in part due to the generous subsidy allowed by royalty. Guillaume Delisle (1675-1726), perhaps the greatest among the reformers active in these years in improving the methods of map construction, was a native of Paris, in which city he passed practically his entire life.118The father, Claude Delisle, famous as a teacher of history and geography, inspired in his son a particular love for the latter subject, or perhaps this may the better be referred to as a love for historical geography. The period was one in which there was much emphasis placed upon the relationship existing between the two branches of study, and it is interesting to note that this phase of geographical study is again coming into favor.119

Doubtless it was in part the influence of Cassini’s teaching which found expression in Delisle’s lifelong efforts to eliminate the numerous errors which he had found existing in the maps of his day, efforts which even in his early life won for him distinction as a map maker. In the year 1700, when he was but twenty-five years of age, there appeared under his name a world map and likewise maps of the several continents.120In these there was exhibited much originality, they being constructed in the main on the basis of astronomical observations which had been made at the RoyalAcademy. Hitherto the Ptolemaic cartography had exerted an overpowering influence. Errors in the location of places still remained on the maps, attributable in large part to that ancient cosmographer, who continued for so long a period a most influential teacher of geography and map making after the renaissance of his ‘Cosmographia’ in the early fifteenth century. Among the greatest errors still to be found in the maps in Delisle’s day was the excessive length given to the Mediterranean, this being about sixty-two degrees of longitude instead of its correct length, which is about forty-two, and the extension of Asia much too far to eastward, together with other errors following upon these.121Delisle, having the support of the Royal Academy, and of the King himself, was able to carry through the reforms in map construction, the fundamental principles of which, it is true, had been suggested before his day, based upon such astronomical observations as were those of Cassini, Picard, and La Hire, wherein there had been an attempt to determine the exact location in longitude of important places on the earth’s surface and wherein they had been aided by the use of the telescope. Through the employment of this instrument they were able to fix the exact time of eclipses and determine the time of the transit of the moons of Jupiter.122In the ‘Journal des Savants’ of the year 1700 is given a letter addressed to the engraver and map maker, Nolin, and signed “Delisle.” In this there is reference to a manuscript globe of the year 1696, the implication being that Guillaume was its author.123The probability is that we have here a letter written by Claude, the father, it being hardly probable that the son drafted a globe map at the age of twenty-one. We, however, know, as before stated, that he achieved great distinction through the maps he published in the year 1700, when he was but twenty-five, and we are also informed that even at the age of eight he attracted attention to himself through the maps he drew to illustrate ancient history.

In the same year that he published his epoch-making mapshe issued the first edition of his globes, those having a diameter of about 31 cm. and those having a diameter of about 15 cm. The globe balls were constructed of papier-mâché covered with plaster over which were pasted the gore maps, each map composed of twelve parts with the usual polar discs. The engraver, we are told, in a brief legend on the terrestrial globe, was Carolus Simonneau, “Car. Simon. del. et sculpsit.” On the larger of the terrestrial globes is the title legend “Globe terrestre dressé sur les observations de l’Académie Royale des sciences et autres mémoires,” and a dedication reading, “À Son Altesse Royale Monseigneur Le Duc de Chartres. Par son très humble et très obéissant serviteur G. De l’Isle Géographie. Berey sculpsit.”

The celestial globe bears the title, “Globe céleste calculé pour l’an 1700. Sur les observations les plus récents. Par. G. De l’Isle Géographe,” and is dedicated “À Son Altesse Royale Monseigneur le Duc de Chartres. Par son très humble et très obéissant Serviteur De l’Isle,” with the following reference to the privilege “À Paris Chez l’Auteur sur le Quai de l’Horologe à la Couronne de Diamans. Avec Privilége du Roy pour 20 ans. 1700.”

While it has not been possible to obtain a detailed description of Delisle’s globe maps, they are referred to as giving practically the same information as his plane maps, many of the latter to be found in our important library collections, and cannot be considered rare.124

The several constellations which he has represented on his celestial globes are those of Ptolemy to which have been added two in the northern hemisphere and thirteen in the southern, and the year chosen for the representation of the position of the stars is 1700. In general the names chosen for the several constellations are French, though a few are in Latin.

A pair of Delisle’s globes may be found in the Königliches Museum of Cassel, dated 1709; a pair dated 1700 in the Museo di Strumenti Antichi of Florence, and a terrestrialglobe dated 1700 in the Real Biblioteca of Madrid (Fig.118).

Terrestrial Globe of Guillaume Delisle, 1700.

Fig. 118. Terrestrial Globe of Guillaume Delisle, 1700.

Terrestrial Globe of Johann Ludovicus Andreae, 1717.

Fig. 118a. Terrestrial Globe of Johann Ludovicus Andreae, 1717.

Weigel, Castlemaine, Coronelli, and Treffler, as has been noted, represented a tendency in globe construction in their day which we have referred to as the ultrapractical. It was impossible that their ideas should find anything like a general acceptance and approval. A globe eleven or fifteen feet in diameter, in the better judgment of astronomers and geographers, could not be counted as possessing superior scientific value, and globes of such dimensions seem only to have won the praise of the novelty-loving contemporaries, and the same general criticism may be passed upon the smaller globes of Castlemaine and Treffler. Perhaps, however, one may well add that in all this a desire was expressing itself for improvement in globe construction.

In this connection attention may be called to a plan for reform in globe making proposed by Jean Dominique Cassini (1625-1712), one of the most famous astronomers of the period.125Cassini was a native of Périnaldo, Italy (Fig.119). Early in life he became interested in the study of astronomy, and at the age of twenty-five received an appointment as professor of this science at the University of Bologna. Recommended by Colbert as one worthy his royal master’s patronage, Cassini in 1669 accepted the invitation of Louis XIV to fill the chair of astronomy in the Collège de France, a position once held by Pierre Gassendi.126In 1671 he became the director of the Royal Observatory of Paris, a position held in succession by four generations of his family. To him we owe the determination of the rotation periods of Jupiter, Venus, and Mars, the discovery of four of Saturn’s satellites and the determination of their periods of revolution. He devoted much time and study to the problem of the obliquity of the ecliptic, to the precession of the equinoxes,127and to the determination of the latitude and longitude of places.128This precession, he found, could not be represented on a celestial globe such as hithertohad been constructed, and he set himself to the task of devising one on a new plan. The position of the constellations, as indicated on the ordinary celestial globe, he, as others, noted would soon be found to be inaccurate. What he proposed was a globe capable of such adjustment as to obviate this difficulty; in other words, he proposed the construction of a globe by means of which this perpetual change might be indicated, or one which would serve to indicate the position of the several constellations at any time, past, present or future.

Portrait of Jean Dominique Cassini.

Fig. 119. Portrait of Jean Dominique Cassini.

Portrait of Nicolas Bion.

Fig. 123. Portrait of Nicolas Bion.

It was to Nicolas Bion, map and globe maker of Paris that the astronomer Cassini entrusted the manufacture of such an instrument, and it is from him that we have a brief description of its peculiar features.129He tells us that the sphere on which the several constellations were represented was enclosed within a number of armillae representing the celestial circles, that is, the colures, the ecliptic, the tropics, the equator, and the polar circles. This inner sphere was attached to a meridian circle at the poles of its equator, within which circle it turned as the ordinary sphere, and it was also attached to the same meridian at the poles of the ecliptic. Around this polar axis of the ecliptic the sphere, with the attached meridian, could be made to revolve, the pole of the equator in its revolution tracing a circle having a radius of twenty-three and a half degrees, a complete revolution being made to represent a period of twenty-five thousand two hundred years, or the time required for the complete precession of the equinox according to his reckoning. This pole in its circle of revolution could be immovably set at any desired point to represent any time past or future, and the sphere then revolved around the pole of the equator. The several stars or constellations could thus be represented in their proper position for the time selected. Bion’s reference to this globe seems to assure us that he completed its construction, yet no trace of it has been left, unless we have such in a record to be found in the history of the RoyalAcademy for the year 1727. In this we find that a globe constructed on the principle laid down by Cassini was presented to the Academy, in the year designated, by Outhier, a priest of Besançon.130This globe, which has disappeared, had the double movements, one about the axis of the equator and one about the axis of the ecliptic. It was a globe which would represent the daily and annual movements of the sun, the difference between the true and the mean time, the movements of the moon and its phases, the eclipses, and the passing of the several fixed stars across the meridian.

Vincenzo Miot, a little-known Italian globe maker of the early eighteenth century, holds a place among the men who were interested in this field, through one extant example of his work, this being a small celestial, having a diameter of about 17 cm.131Its author and date legend reads, “Sphaera Mundi majoribus et minoribus circulis distincta praecipuisque stellis in nostro Horizonte conspicuis ornata ad annum 1710. Studio et opera D. Vincentio Miot.” “World globe marked by large and small circles, and adorned with the principal stars visible in our horizon calculated for the year 1710. By the learning and labor of D. Vincentio Miot.” The sphere is covered with an engraved map showing the several constellations and the principal celestial circles. Its twelve segments are fashioned to terminate at the poles of the ecliptic, instead of at the poles of the equator, a practice not uncommon. The globe has a simple mounting of wood, is reported to be in good condition, and may be found in the Liceo Marco Foscarini of Venice, to which library it came, in the year 1807, from the Convent of S. Georgio Maggiore.

It is not a little surprising that our information is so meager concerning men as active in the field of map and globe making as were Gerhard and Leonhard Valk in the latter part of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. We cannot be certain of their relationship; apparently they were not brothers, as has been sometimes stated. If there is not left to us a biographical word by any admiring or appreciativecontemporary of these praiseworthy Netherlanders, there is extant a very considerable amount of their work which warrants our giving them rank well toward the van of those interested in their particular field. Of the two, Gerhard seems to have been the more prominent, his name very frequently appearing as the engraver or maker of many of the maps one finds in the collective atlases of the early eighteenth century.132With Leonhard he was the maker of globes, large and small, ranging from about 7 cm. to 46 cm. in diameter, of which a very considerable number may still be found in our libraries and museums.

In an undated work published by Gerhard on the uses of celestial and terrestrial globes,133he tells us of the improvements he introduced, noting that he had attempted to give the location of the stars on his celestial globe as late as 1700, while on those issued prior to his own, the dates selected were in general 1640 or 1660. The suggestion contained herein is that he at least began the construction of his globes as early as 1700, although none are now known bearing date so early.134There appears to be an example of his work in the University Library of Ghent, dated 1707, but a description of this it has not been possible to obtain. The date most commonly found on the Valk globes is 1750, all of which, if correctly dated, were issued long after their death.

The Hispanic Society of America possesses three pairs of the Valk globes, each apparently dated 1750, though in some instances, as noted below, these dates have been altered by skilfully cutting out the last two figures of the original and inserting the number 50. The diameter of each of the largest pair is 46 cm. (Fig.120). Each is supplied with a graduated meridian circle of brass, the celestial being furnished with a brass hour circle and pointer, and the terrestrial with a brass quadrant of altitude. Each is further furnished with a broad horizon circle of wood on which has been pasted an engraved paper giving the names of the signs of the zodiac, the various chronological signs, such as goldennumbers, epacta, and dominical letters, the names of the months, and points of the compass, including both the old and the new nomenclature for the directions of winds, as “Borro Lybicus” or “Noord-West,” “Zephyrus” or “West.” The under supports of the globes consist in each instance of four turned columns attached at their lower extremities by crossbars on which rests a circular turned plate 42 cm. in diameter. From the center of these plates rises a post 10 cm. in length through a notch in which the brass meridian circle is made to pass in moving the globes to an adjustment for any desired altitude. The gores of each are twelve in number, those of the terrestrial globe having an equatorial mounting while those of the celestial globe have an ecliptic mounting, that is, the meridian lines pass from pole to pole of the ecliptic instead of from pole to pole of the equator. In each, the gores have been truncated twenty degrees from the poles, the polar space being covered by circular discs. The engraving of both the terrestrial and the celestial map is exquisitely done, and much of the color originally applied by hand yet remains. The several figures representing the constellations are copies of the figures as represented by Hevelius in his ‘Prodromus Astronomiae,’ and reference to this great astronomer is made in the title legend quoted below. These figures are among the most artistic representations to be found on any of the globes of the period, which the author is preparing to reissue in facsimile as a by-product of these globe studies. (Fig.120a.)

Terrestrial Globe of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, 1750 (?).

Fig. 120. Terrestrial Globe of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, 1750 (?).

Southern Hemisphere of Celestial Globe by Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, with Author and Date Legend, 1750 (?).

Fig. 120a. Southern Hemisphere of Celestial Globe by Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, with Author and Date Legend, 1750 (?).

Between the constellations “Cetus” and “Phoenix” on the celestial globe is a cartouch which appears to have been pasted over an older title, reading, “Uranographia Syderum et Stelarum in Singulis Syderibus conspicuarum, exhibens Delineatonem accuratissimam qua ex observationibus Astronomi plane Singularis Johannis Hevelii usque ad finem anni MDCC emendata est. Nova praeterea methodo additus est ex mente Lotharii Zumbach M.D. et Mathem. Cearis Horizon ad Meridianum Amstelaedamensem accurate per annosplures quam ducentos Lunae Syzygias indicans praeter annos communes et bissextiles. Opera et Studio Gerhardi et Leonhardi Valk Amstelaedamensium 17[50].” “Uranography of the constellations and of the single stars, exhibiting an accurate delineation (of the same) corrected from the observations of the renowned astronomer Johannes Hevelius, and conformed to the year 1700. Besides a new method is added, the invention of Lothar Zumbach, M. D., and a renowned mathematician, accurately exhibiting the horizon on the meridian of Amsterdam for more than 200 years, also the changes of the moon in addition to the common years and leap years. By the learning and the labor of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, citizens of Amsterdam, 1750.”

Near the constellation Argo appears the dedication to the Burgomaster of Amsterdam and President of the East India Company, Johannes Trip J. U. D. (1664-1732). In this there is, of course, conclusive evidence that the globe must have been made before the year 1732. The dedication reads, “Viro amplissima dignitate ac meritorum Splendore, conspicuo Johanni Trip J. U. D. Reipublicae Amstelaedamensis Consuli Gravissimo, Societatis Indiae Orientalis Moderatori integerrimo Toparchae in Berkenroden iustissimo & hanc Universi Orbis Terrarum Faciem eâ quâ par est reverentia D. D. D. Gerhardus et Leonhardus Valk.” “To John Tripp J. U. D., Consul of the Amsterdam Republic, President of the East India Company, the upright and honorable magistrate of Berkenrode, a man conspicuous by reason of his great worth and the splendor of his achievements, this globe is dedicated with reverence which is befitting by Gerhard and Leonhard Valk.”

Near the first legend has been pasted the following brief printed statement, “Propter motum, Stellarum fixarum versus ortum post annum 1750 additione 3/4 gr. Correctio Longitudinum ut instituatur monendus Uranophilus.” “Because of the movement of the fixed stars toward the east since the year 1750, the student of astronomy is advised to correct thelongitude by the addition of 3/4 of a degree.” The terrestrial globe map, composed of eighteen gores, is filled with interesting geographical details, with geographical names and brief explanatory legends, being a fine example of the superior cartographical work published in that century in the Netherlands. There is something of an exaggeration in the representation by waving line of the several coasts and river courses, all of which appears to have been done for artistic effect rather than for a desire to be strictly accurate. In the New World we find such regional names as “Penn-Sylvania,” the first part of the name being north of Lake Ontario, also “Carolina,” “Virginia,” “Belgia Nova,” “Anglia,” “Scotia Nova.” Many provincial names are given in South America with boundary lines drawn. California is represented as an island, stretching northward to “Fretum Aniani.” To the west of this stretches as far as the northeast coast of Asia, through about seventy-five degrees of longitude with definitely drawn southern coast line but extending indefinitely northward, a continental region bearing the legend “Terra incognita sive terra Esonis.” Loxodromic lines are represented as on the best globes of the period radiating from numerous compass roses located along the meridians 0 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees. Frobisher’s Strait is strangely duplicated at the southern extremity of Greenland. The title legend of this terrestrial globe, placed in the southern Pacific, reads, “Universi Orbis Terrarum Facies cum industria ac fide Secundum certissimas et novissimas Praestantissimiorum Geographorum Observationes denuo luci exposita; cuique praeterea longitudinis et latitudinis gradus Secundum Uranographiam novam, ac proinde &c. rei veritate sunt inscripti per Gerhardum et Leonhardum Valk, Amstelaedamenses 1750, cum privilegio.” “A representation of the land of the whole earth exhibited with industry and accuracy according to the most reliable and the most recent observations of the most renowned geographers, on which, in addition the degrees of latitude and longitudeaccording to a new method and also in accord with truth, have been inserted by Gerhard and Leonhard Valk. Amsterdam. 1750. With privilege.”

In the second pair of Valk globes belonging to The Hispanic Society of America (Fig.121), both terrestrial and celestial have diameters of about 30 cm. The mounting of these globes is practically the same as that in the larger pair. An author and date legend appearing in the Pacific to the west of South America reads: “Cosmotheore. Coelesti nostro Globo, Par et plane Novus. Hic Terrestris Ut existeret: certo facias: Errore Veterum Sublatô, Non tantum Utrisque Orbis Longitudines ac Latitudines, per reiteratas Neotericorum Observationes. Hiccè esse restitutas; Sed et nullum typis Emendatiorum pro diisse, Hoc igitur Novissimô tam diu fruere, Donec, sub Majori forma, Meō aere Alios excudemus. Ger. et Leon. Valk Calcographi Amstelaedami. Revis. Ao1750 Cum Privilegio.” “Cosmotherium. That this terrestrial globe might equal (be a companion to) our celestial globe and entirely new, be assured that after correcting the errors of those who have preceded us, not only the longitudes and latitudes of each sphere have been corrected by the repeated observations of later astronomers, but likewise no (globe) has appeared more carefully corrected in the printing. This most recent globe therefore make use of until in a larger form at my own expense we Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, engravers shall construct others. Amsterdam. Revised to the year 1750. With privilege.”

Terrestrial Globe of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, 1750 (?).

Fig. 121. Terrestrial Globe of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, 1750 (?).

A dedication, such as appears on the first pair referred to, is wanting. There is no particular improvement to be noted in this revision. California is still laid down as an island. The uncertainty as to the outline of “Holandia Nova” is a striking feature, as is the omission of an austral continent. Geographical details are less numerous than in the larger pair, but in the matter of the engraving of the map it exhibits practically the same characteristics.

The celestial globe map has the author and date legendplaced near the constellation “Cetus.” It reads, “Uranographia Coelum omne hic Complectens, illa pro ut aucta, et ad annum 1750 Completum MAGNO ab HEVELIO correcta est; ita ejus ex Prototypis, sua noviter haec Ectypa veris Astronomiae cultoribus exhibet et consecrant GER. et LEON. VALK, Amstelaedamenses. Cum Privilegio.” “Star-Map comprising the entire heavens according as it has been corrected to the end of the year 1750 by the Great Hevelius; so from his prototype Gerhard and Leonhard Valk present and dedicate these their own recent copies to the true lovers of astronomy. With privilege.”

Near this legend, now appearing as a part of the original engraving, is that which, in the larger globe referred to above, had been pasted on as a separate slip, reading “Propter motum ... Uranophilus.” Near the constellation “Hydra” is the legend reading “Monitum Novis hisce Sphaeris Novissimus. Ex praescripto Lotharii Zum-Bach Med. Doct. unus, et alter additus Horizon: Quorum Is, qui huic Caelesti singularis, Praeter Communes atque Bissextilem, Ut exactior, Luminarium indigetur Locus ad Meridianum Amstelodamens. Plus quam per Ducentos Annos, Suis Mensium Diebus Appositas Lunae Syzygias, Mediô Tempore Medias, Ingeniosâ Methodō et eruit, et exhibet.” “Notice. To these our spheres, in accord with the directions of Lothar Zum-Bach, Doctor of Medicine, there has been added one very recent, and also a second horizon; of these two the one which belongs to the celestial globe has in addition the common and bissextile years, in order that the location of the stars may the more exactly be discovered; it both works out and exhibits by an ingenious method, according to the meridian of Amsterdam, over a space of more than two hundred years the syzygies of the moon placed opposite their proper days of the month, the middle ones being in the middle time.”

Each of these globes is well preserved, the colors originally applied remaining particularly bright in the southernhemispheres, these being better protected from light and from injuries incident to the more exposed upper surfaces.

In the third pair of Valk globes belonging to The Hispanic Society (Fig.121a) the diameter of each is about 23 cm. In geographical details, in legends, etc., each of these agrees with the preceding second pair. It is, however, to be noted that the date on the terrestrial globe has the figure 50 appearing in the date 1750 skilfully inserted after the removal of the original, and that the loxodromic lines are on this more numerous; indeed, it is one of the most interesting globes examined for the representation of these lines, which become curiously, but necessarily, somewhat intricate in their crossings as they approach the poles. Of the three pairs of these globes referred to above, this third pair seems to be the best preserved; the only injury to be especially noted is that appearing on the celestial, this being a crack in the surface extending from pole to pole. The original colors in each are particularly well preserved.

In addition to the examples of Valk globes referred to above as belonging to the University of Ghent and to The Hispanic Society of America, a pair may be found in the Königliches Museum of Cassel, said by Gerland to be dated 1715, and to have each a diameter of 45 cm., also a terrestrial globe in the same museum said to be dated, though doubtless erroneously, 1700, and to have a diameter of 23 cm., also a celestial globe of the same date having a diameter of 30 cm. In the Mathematische Salon of Dresden is a celestial globe having a diameter of 30 cm., and a pair in the Museo di Fisica of Bologna, the diameter of each being about 46 cm. The date has not been ascertained. In the Germanisches Nationalmuseum of Nürnberg may be found a well-preserved pair of the Valk globes said to be dated 1700 and to have each a diameter of 31 cm.

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