globesTerrestrial Globe and Celestial Globe, 1616. Willem Janszoon Blaeu
Terrestrial Globe and Celestial Globe, 1616. Willem Janszoon Blaeu
The oldest known terrestrial globe extant is that constructed by Martin Behaim of Nuremberg in the year in which Columbus made his first momentous voyage across the Atlantic.[29]It is a manuscript globe, that is, a ball covered with irregular strips of parchment on which the world map has been drawn by hand and elaborately colored. In the first decades of the sixteenth century, numerous globes were made either of copper on which the map was engraved, of wood, or of a composition on which an engraved or hand drawn map was pasted. Some of these globe maps, as for example that attributed to Martin Waldseemüller and supposed to have been drawn in the first decade of the sixteenth century, hence the oldest known of this character, were engraved and printed on gores or bi-angles, and were so fashioned mathematically that they would completely cover a ball when pasted over its surface,[30]but not until Mercator, in 1541, engraved and printed his famous globe gore map can such a method be said to have proved itself tobe thoroughly practical. From this time on, with now and then a slight modification of the number of gores employed and of the method of fitting them on the ball near the poles, globes have been constructed in much the same manner as Mercator had constructed his first example. That he made many globes is very certain, yet it appears that all of these were long thought to have been destroyed, until about forty years ago, when a complete set of his gores was found, and at present no less than six others, either mounted or unmounted, can be located.[31]In 1551, Mercator prepared in the same manner a celestial globe map, all examples of which likewise had been thought to have disappeared until the discovery of the set referred to above, and of this globe a number of copies are now known to exist.
Quite as successful as Mercator were the van Langrens, father and son, the first globe of the father dating as early as 1585.[32]Before the close of the sixteenth century, Jodocus Hondius became interested in the construction of globes, and, like the van Langrens, continued his work in the first decade of the following century, his workshop then falling into the hands of his sons, who for many years found the manufacture of globes to be a profitable business.[33]
Blaeu, as before stated, must have obtained much of his early knowledge of map and of globe construction while a pupil of Tycho at the Castle of Uranienburg, for it was not long after his return to Amsterdam that we find him actively engaged in this work, perhaps in his own workshop.[34]His first globe is dated 1599. The world map here represented is, so far as we have definite knowledge, his first cartographical publication, and in many of its features it gives evidence that Mercator was the master followed, notably in the representation of the loxodrome lines which radiate from the wind or compass roses, or from the centers regularly placed on the surface of the globe. It has a diameter of 34 cm., which is less than that of Mercator’s globe of 1541 but greater than that of van Langren of 1585. The gores, twelve in number, have been cut seven degrees from each pole, the polar space being covered with a circular disc. Blaeu, as many other globe makers of his period, found that by thus dividing the engraved globe maps a more nearly perfect covering for the ball could be obtained. Meridians and parallels are drawn at intervals of ten degrees, the prime meridian crossing the island of Santa Maria in the Azores group. In conspicuously placed legends he presents his address to the reader, that is, to the one who may have occasion to make use of his globe, a dedication to the United Provinces of the Netherlands, which, like the first, is signed Guilielmus Janssonius Alcmariensis, and in separate inscriptions he calls attention to the great discoveries and explorations as, for example, those of Christopher Columbus, of Amerigo Vespucci, of Ferdinand Magellan, of Gaspar Cortereal, and of the Dutch navigators, with a brief mention of others. All legends are in Latin except those referring to the discoveries of his own countrymen in the far north, in which he has employed the Dutch language.
As in the issue of his sheet maps, Blaeu was not always careful to add an exact date, in the majority of instancesomitting the date altogether, so in the issue of his globes he either omitted the date or frequently gave one later than was that of the original issue. His geographical records serve us, however, as very accurate guides in the determination of dates, and what was so frequently true of the globes he constructed in the last years of his life was true of this, his first. We have, for example, one fine copy of his work, bearing date 1599, which contains geographical records of 1616, indicating, therefore, a late reprint with a few alterations.
Three years later, that is, in 1602, Blaeu issued a terrestrial and a celestial globe, each having a diameter of 23 cm. He refers to his terrestrial globe as an improvement upon that of 1599, referring doubtless to its geographical details and not to its size. He dedicates his work to the three provinces, Holland, Zeeland and West Friesland, calls especial attention to the recent expedition of Olivier van der Noort, the course of whose expedition around the world he lays down on his map, and signs himself Guilielmo Jansonio Blaeu, substituting his family name for the name of his birthplace. On his celestial globe of 1602 he located the stars in accord with the reckoning of the year 1600, making use, as he states, of the observations of his friend and teacher, Tycho Brahe, but for the southern constellations the observations of the explorer Fredrik Houtman.[35]By reason of the fact that so few copies of these globes of 1602 are known to exist, it has been thought that for some reason Blaeu issued a very limited number. We know, however, that his terrestrial globes were highly valued and much in demand, because of the care with which they hadbeen prepared, because of his effort to give information concerning the latest discoveries, and because of his representation of the loxodrome lines which made them of special service to navigators; that his celestial globes found favor by reason of the fact that he was known to be a pupil and friend of Tycho Brahe; and that he himself was known to be a mathematician and astronomer of distinction.
In 1603, he undertook the preparation of a celestial globe to be considered a companion of his first globe of 1599. From the observations of Brahe and of Houtman he tells us as in his work of the preceding year, that he derived many of his details, and he honors the former by giving his portrait a conspicuous position in his map, adding his master’s favorite motto: “Non haberi, sed esse.”
The Hispanic Society of America possesses a fine example of Blaeu’s early globe work. It is small in size, having a diameter of 13 cm., and is well preserved. Near the upper part of North America is the legend inscribed in a neat cartouche, “NOVA et accurata Terra marisque Sphera, denuo recognita et, correcta á Guilielmo Blaeu,” and in a second legend placed to the south of “Nova Guinea,” which is represented as a part of the great south polar continent of “Magallanica,” he inscribes his name with date, “Guilielmus Blaeu Anno D. 1606.” There may likewise be found in this Society’s rich collections a terrestrial and a celestial globe by Blaeu which clearly are companion pieces and which appear to be unique, the latter dated 1616, the former undated.[36]These globes have a diameter of but10 cm., a substantial and artistic mounting of brass, including meridian circle, horizon circle, four twisted support columns and a circular base plate. In geographical and astronomical details they are remarkably full, a fact especially noteworthy when their size is taken into consideration. The first he designates as “NOVA ORBIS TERRARVM DESCRIPTIO” and adds to this merely the name “Blaeu”; the second he calls a “Sphaera stellata,” and in a legend he honors his teacher Tycho Brahe by making special mention of his name, signing himself “Guilielmus Blaeu Auctor excudit 1616.” Fiorini refers to a Blaeu celestial globe in the Barberini Palace at Rome dated 1616, but his description of the same shows conclusively that it is very different from the one referred to above, and he appears to consider its map a print of later date, though perhaps in its main features it was originally engraved in the year designated.
The next dated and signed globes of Blaeu appear to be of the year 1622, numerous copies of which the author has been able to locate, but in which, however, slight variations appear. From this time until his death in the year 1638, our globe maker seems to have applied himself most diligently to this work, the globes of his later years being much larger than were those of his early years. This Society possesses a well preserved example of his 1622 terrestrial globe which has a diameter of 69 cm. Its map gives us excellent proof of Blaeu’s superior merit in this field. Its geographical details are most numerous, making it an object of great scientific value. Among the records of special interest, omitting for obvious reasons at this time any extended reference to the work, is the representationof Manhattan as an island, apparently the earliest on a dated map.
Vossius tells us that in addition to terrestrial and celestial globes, Blaeu also made a planetarium and a tellurium. In the first, the sun is placed in the center of the system, about which revolve Venus, the Earth and the Moon, Mars and Jupiter. The second represents the double motion of the Earth, that is, its daily rotation and its annual revolution. He remarks that nothing like it has been seen since the time of Archimedes. Blaeu himself refers to these instruments in his work first issued probably in 1620 with the title, “Tweevoudigh onderwys van de Hemelsche en Aerdsche Globen,” as of value for the study of cosmography. In connection with his description of them, he interestingly observes that the celestial heavens are at least 20,000 times greater in diameter than is the circle of the terrestrial globe’s course, and this in his planetarium is 2½ inches. He adds that the diameter of the terrestrial globe’s course is 1142 times the celestial globe’s diameter.
A very considerable number of his globes, doubtless constructed subsequent to 1622, can now be located, though at the time of writing his biography in 1872, Baudet could find trace of but five or six, including those of earlier date. In a searching study of the history of early globes, it may here be stated that the author of this monograph has now been able to locate no less than sixty Blaeu globes.