Rand McNally & Company
18-Inch Terrestrial Floor Globe
Chicago: c. 1930s
Four-legged wooden stand
39 inches high; 23 inches diameter
Price on Request
Rand McNally 18-Inch Art Deco Floor Globe
"The Drake," c. 1930s
"The Drake," c. 1930s
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The terrestrial globe is surmounted by an hour circle, within a metal meridian with raised calibrations, raised on an Art Deco walnut stand. The horizon band has a figured exotic wood frieze decorated with roundels above the legs, rotating 360 degrees on a bulbous wooden meridian holder resting on a medial cross stretcher. The four tapered down-swept legs end in ebonized feet with cross-hatched decoration.
Oceans are blue, now faded to green, geographic entities generally cream color, now beige. Palestine is shown, indicating a date before 1948.
A nearly identical globe, is shown in Rand McNally catalog 337, dated 1937, called The Drake, the finest 18-inch globe then offered by Rand McNally. According to the catalog, “the simplicity and freedom from unnecessary ornamentation to this model represents the best in modern furniture design.” The stand has a Louis XVI “Gout-Grec” transitional influence in the form of the tapered leg, but is decidedly Art Deco overall.
Rand McNally was a major American globe manufacturer. Read more about the firm in our Guide to Globe Makers.
Cartouche Formed of Two Dolphins: INDEXED/ RAND McNALLY/ 18” GLOBE/ Scale […] / Copyright by Rand McNally & Company, Chicago/ Made in U.S.A.
Condition: Globe generally very good, noting the usual toning, wear, soiling, darkening, and a few small scuffs or abrasions restored, including a small area near the equator west of Africa (unobtrusive). Some minor cracks at equator, stable and unobtrusive.