Description
Other examples of Bardin’s New Twelve Inch British Celestial Globe are in the collections of the Peabody Essex Museum (Dekker and van der Krogt) and the National Maritime Museum in the U.K. (Dekker). Another was exhibited in London in 1994 as part of the collection of Rudolf Schmidt (Lamb and Collins).
The Bardin family was among the greatest globe makers in London from the late eighteenth through the early nineteenth century. The patriarch of the family, William Bardin (c. 1740-1798) began globe production in the 1780s. The origin of Bardin’s globes is thought to be traceable to the early-18th-century globes of John Senex, the father of British globe making in the Age of Enlightenment. Fifteen years after Senex’s death, the copper plates for his globe gores were sold to James Ferguson. William Bardin’s connection with Ferguson is thought to be through Gabriel Wright (d. 1803-04), an apprentice of Benjamin Martin.
In 1790, William Bardin’s son, Thomas Marriott Bardin, completed a seven-year apprenticeship and joined the firm, thereafter trading as W. & T.M. Bardin. In 1798, the father and the son team began publication of their “New British Globes,” though William Bardin passed away in this year. The skill required for the production of these 12- and 18-inch globes was much admired in contemporary accounts. Bardin New British Globes were frequently marketed by the scientific instrument makers and dealers W. & S. Jones. Following Thomas M. Bardin’s death in 1819, his daughter, Elizabeth Marriott Bardin, continued the family globe business production until 1832, at which time the company’s ownership was passed to her husband, Samuel Sabine Edkins. He continued manufacturing Bardin globes under his name.
This particular globe was sold by the scientific instrument makers and dealers W. & S. Jones (bearing their label), as is frequently the case with Bardin globes. The firm was founded by brothers William (1763-1831) and Samuel (1769-1859), as successors to the firm of their father John Jones, also an optical instrument maker and bookseller. William Jones was a pupil of the scientific instrument maker and globe maker Benjamin Martin. W. & S. Jones was in business from 1792 to 1830 as a bookseller, printer and scientific instrument maker of “optical, mathematical, and philosophical instruments.” In addition to terrestrial and celestial globes, W. & S. Jones is also well known for producing and selling a variety of orreries.
Cartouche: THE/ NEW TWELVE INCH/ British Celestial Globe,/ Containing the exact positions of more than 3800 FIXD/ STARS; Nebulae, Planetary Nebula &c: according/ to the Latest Discoveries and Observations, of/ Dr. Maskelyne, Dr. Herschel, and other eminent/ Astronomers, And adjusted to the/ present period 1800.
Rectangular inset label under cartouche: Sold by W.& S. JONES/ Holborn, London
Condition: Generally very good with the usual expected light scattered surface wear, staining, soiling, fading, toning, and abrasions, all professionally restored. Colors possibly restored, overall with a rich bright tone, good contrast, and readable. Stand generally very good with the usual overall light wear and shrinkage.
References:
A Catalogue of Optical, Mathematical, and Philosophical Instruments, Made and Sold by W. and S. Jones, (30) Lower Holborn, London. London: W. Glendinning, 1818.
Chambers Biographical Dictionary Edinburgh: 1990.
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. GL0070. pp. 269-270.
Dekker, Elly and van der Krogt, Peter. Globes from the Western World. London: Zwemmer, 1993. pp. 115-116 and 136.
Lamb, Tom and Collins, Jeremy. The World in Your Hands: An Exhibition of Globes and Planetaria. London: Christie’s, 1994. 4.63.
Millburn, J.R. and T.E. Rössaak, “The Bardin Family, Globe-Makers in London, and Their Associate, Gabriel Wright.” Der Globusfreund, No. 40/41 (1992), pp. 21-57.