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Globe, French, Delamarche, Terrestrial World, 13-Inch Table Globe, 4-leg Ebonized Stand, Antique, Paris, c. 1801

Charles-François Delamarche
13-inch Terrestrial Table Globe
Rue du Jardinet, No. 13, Paris: c. 1801
Ebonized parcel-gilt four-legged stand
23.25 inches high

The 13-inch (32.5-centimeter) terrestrial globe is surmounted by a pasteboard hour circle and set within a pasteboard full meridian, each with engraved paper calibrations. The horizon band has an engraved paper calendar and zodiac, raised on a turned parcel-gilt ebonized wooden stand with four legs having ring and bulbous turnings, joined by a flat, rectangular, molded x-form stretcher, ending in toupie feet. The rococo cartouche is decorated with garlands of flowers as well as branches with leaves and berries that appear to represent olive branches, a symbol of peace.

Product description continues below.

Description

The globe is labeled in French and has cream-colored oceans and continents. Coastlines are outlined in green. Mountain ranges are represented pictorially and shaded brown. The equator and ecliptic are highlighted in red. The tracks of Captain Cook’s three voyages and those of Fourneau and La Pérouse are indicated, and highlighted in green or red. ­­In North America, the Western portions of present-day America and Canada are largely blank, reflecting known geography of the pre-Lewis and Clark era. West of the Mississippi only a few rivers are depicted. “Canada” encompasses an area east of the Rockies, and Mexico (“Mexique”) includes a large swath of territory north of its present-day border, labeled Apaches. In the eastern United States some major cities and the territories of native tribes are labeled: Cherokees (“Cherakis”), “Ilinois,” and Iroquois, as well as state names in French: Virginie, Floride, Caroline, and Georgie. Hawaii is called the Sandwich Islands; in Alaska, a few islands and coastal landmarks are named.­ Australia is called New Holland (“Nouvelle Hollande”) and Tasmania is presented as an island and labeled “Terre de Diemen.”

The collection of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, has a globe (GLB0116) that is apparently in most respects identical to this one, with the date “1801” on the cartouche, except that that cartouche has Delamarche’s previous address at Rue du Foin St. Jacques au Collège de M’tre Gervais. The National Maritime Museum also has a companion celestial globe in the collection (GLB0117).

The Delamarche family and successors were the most renowned and prolific producers of armillary spheres in France from the late 18th century to the late 19th century. The firm was founded by Charles-François Delamarche in the late 18th century, as successor to Jean Fortin and the remainder of the workshop of the Robert de Vaugondy family, who had been map and globe makers to King Louis XVI. Delamarche first worked in the Rue du Foin St. Jacques, moving to 13 Rue du Jardinet about 1800 — the latter being the address on the offered globe. According to Globes of the Western World, the Delamarche firm was the first French globe maker to pursue the educational market and produce affordable globes for the general public. They continued production for most of the 19th century, under the management of Delamarche’s son Félix and other successors.

Full publication information: C.F. Delamarche, Rue du Jardinet No. 13, Paris, 1801.

Cartouche: GLOBE TERRESTRE/ RÉDIGÉ astronomiquement, et où se trouvent/ les trios voyages du Capit. COOK, ses découvertes; et celles de la Peyrouse sur la Nlle. Hollande la Nlle. Guinée et sur la partie occident/ de l’Amérique Septentrionale./ A PARIS/ Par C.F. Delamarche Géog. Rue du Jardinet/ No. 13, vis-à-vis celle de l’Eperon./ 1801

Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning, wear, and soiling. Few minor scattered, cracks, abrasions, losses, all professionally restored.

References:

Dekker, Elly, et al. Globes at Greenwich: A Catalogue of the Globes and Armillary Spheres in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. London: Oxford University Press and the National Maritime Museum, 1999. pp. 321-324.

Dekker, Elly and van der Krogt, Peter. Globes from the Western World. London: Zwemmer, 1993 p. 63.

Lamb, Tom and Collins, Jeremy. The World in Your Hands: An Exhibition of Globes and Planetaria. London: Christie’s, 1994. p. 50.

“Terrestrial Table Globe.” Royal Museums Greenwich. http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/19803.html (28 June 2018).

Additional information

Maker Location

Maker

Globe Type

Terrestrial

Material

Ebonized, Wood

Stand

Four-legged, Full meridian