C.L. van Balen (editor)
4-inch Terrestrial Table Globe (Aardglobe)
J.B. Wolters, Groningen, Netherlands: Early 20th Century
Tin drum stand
6.5 inches high, 6 inches diameter
Price on Request
Dutch Student Terrestrial Globe
Tin Drum Stand with Astronomical Diagrams
Tin Drum Stand with Astronomical Diagrams
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The terrestrial globe is set within a painted tin meridian circle graduated in four quadrants, contained in a tin drum-shaped table stand, the painted horizon showing degrees, days of the month, the houses of the zodiac, and compass directions. The outside of the drum is painted with astronomical diagrams of eclipses of the sun and moon, the ecliptic, the equatorial co-ordinate system used for mapping celestial objects, and the path of the sun in relation to Amsterdam. The globe is comprised of twelve gores and two polar calottes, the equatorial and Greenwich meridian graduated in degrees, the ecliptic graduated in degrees 0-360 with signs for the houses of the zodiac, the continents variously and brightly colored. Place names are in Dutch.
This globe was created as an educational device for Dutch students to study geography and astronomy. It is credited in the cartouche to C.L. van Balen, who wrote textbooks on mathematics and geography and edited the main Dutch school atlas in use for decades during the first half of the 20th century. The globe and school atlas were published by J.B. Wolters, which was founded in Groningen in 1836 as the Schoolbook Publishing House; as the name implies, it was as a publisher of educational and instructional materials. Over the succeeding decades, J.B. Wolters became a leading producer of textbooks and academic materials, opening branches in The Hague in 1915 and in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1920. The firm is still in existence today as Wolters Kluwer NV, currently the Netherlands’ second largest publisher.
Titles of astronomical diagrams: Zons en Maansverduistering, Ecliptica, Ordinaten Stelsel, Banen van de Zon voor Amsterdam [Eclipses of the Sun and Moon, Ecliptic, Equatorial Co-ordinate System, Orbits of the Sun for Amsterdam].
Cartouche: AARDGLOBE door C.L. VAN BALEN J.B. Wolters Groningen [World Globe of C.L. van Balen. J.B. Wolters, Groningen].
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning and wear. Poles professionally restored (reinforced).
References:
Ormeling, Ferjan. "School atlases for a colonial society: The Van Gelder/Lekkerkerker school atlases for the Netherlands East Indies 1880-1952." International Symposium on "Old Worlds-New Worlds": The History of Colonial Cartography 1750-1950. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 21 to 23 August 2006. p. 7. Online at http://www.icahistcarto.org (27 January 2010).
"Wolters Kluwer NV." Funding Universe. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Wolters-Kluwer-NV-Company-History.html (27 January 2010).