Description
The cartography of the globe is fairly detailed, including nation and city names, international shipping routes, and transatlantic submarine cables. In the United States, state outlines are depicted in dotted line. Notable cities named include New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Savannah, St. Augustine, Nashville, Cincinnati, St. Paul, San Francisco, Sante Fe, and El Paso. The modern-day panhandle of Oklahoma is included in Texas state borders (though it had been ceded to 3 states in 1854) and the remainder of what is now Oklahoma is marked “Ind. Territory.” These boundaries reflect the creation of the nation’s first Indian Territory in 1834 in response to the 1830 Indian Removal Act, which expelled southern aboriginal natives (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole) and forcibly relocated them to modern-day Oklahoma. This boundary would remain in place until the 1890 Oklahoma Organic Act. “Dacota” is shown as one contiguous region, not yet divided into North and South. The “Y. Stone River” is marked, though there is no mention of the national park, which was designated a national landmark in 1872.
A very similar example to the offered Schermerhorn globe is featured in the 1871 “School Materials” Schermerhorn catalog. It is included as the first entry in the globe section of the catalog as a 5-inch terrestrial globe on a simple stand. In the illustrated offering, the turnings of the stand are similar if not identical to the offered globe, but the one in the catalog is raised on an inclination arm of 23 degrees, unlike the offered example. The 5-inch model is presented as a J.W. Schermerhorn original design, referred to in the catalog as “Our New School Globe.” The descriptive text is as follows:
OUR NEW SCHOOL GLOBE.
Probably the principal reason why so few of our schools are supplied with a globe is that there has been no good globe to be obtained at a moderate price.
Our new five-inch Terrestrial Globe will precisely supply this want. The map is new—clearly and finely engraved—prepared expressly for taking the place of the large and expensive globes. The ‘Grand Divisions’ are boldly colored. The water is white, distinctly showing the principal Islands, Peninsulas, Capes, Gulfs, Bays, etc., etc. It is mounted in a light and durable manner, strong brass mountings, inclined axis, on a neat black-walnut stand. Securely packed in box with sliding cover. Price: $2.25”
As indicated above, unlike the globe in the “School Materials” catalog, the offered example was made as a promotional globe for a Boston insurance company, rather than for school use. as indicated by a round printed label on the base: “Presented by Globe Insurance Co. / 7 Exchange Place, Boston. / CEO M. Buttrick, President. / E. D. Goodrich, Vice-Pres. / WM. R. Cray, Secretary. / A. C. Adams, Ass’t Sec. / Patent applied for.”
J.W. Schermerhorn & Co. of New Bond Street, New York City, was an American publisher, school supplier, and globe maker active in the second half of the 19th Century. The owner, J.W. Schermerhorn had a broad interest in various aspects of the field of education, including the American Institute which dealt with hiring instructors and outreach to parents. The eponymous company specialized in publishing educational materials, including the “American Educational Cyclopaedia,” a comprehensive resource aimed at enhancing educational standards. In 1871, the firm issued a “School Material” catalog. In a foreword, the catalog addressed “all friends of education” and extolled it as “the most complete and elaborate Manual of School Material ever published … to contribute our full share towards supplying the material necessary in educating the six millions of children who live on American soil.” The catalog was extensive, featuring globes and planetaria in addition to pupils’ and teachers’ desks and chairs, bookshelves, gymnastic apparatus, blackboards, school stationery, educational diagrams, and schoolbooks. These offerings were produced by Schermerhorn as well as various other manufacturers.
Circular Cartouche: “J.W. Schermerhorn & Co. / 14 Bond St / New York”
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning, handling, wear. Few scattered minor abrasions professionally restored.
References:
School Material, New York: J.W. Schermerhorn & Co., 1871.
Warner, Deborah Jean. “The Geography of Heaven and Earth,” Rittenhouse Journal of the American Scientific Instrument Enterprise, Vol. 2, No. 4. 1987. p. 128 (discussion in entry about Shepherd slate globes).
