The terrestrial globe is surmounted by a finial, raised vertically on an ebonized wooden stand with a turned central standard and dish base.\u00a0 The globe shows present-day St. Petersburg, Russia, as “Leningrad;” therefore, it was made after 1924.\u00a0 Further, it shows Constantinople rather than Istanbul, indicating a date of manufacture before 1930.\u00a0 In addition, it shows Central Australia as a separate territory, limiting its period from 1927 to 1931.\u00a0 It was produced during the golden era of the French Art Deco period, though the original stand is fairly traditional, typical of earlier periods.<\/p>\n
Titled Globe Terrestre [Terrestrial Globe], it packs a remarkably large amount of geographic information into a relatively small globe.\u00a0 Colonies and protectorates of France, England, Spain, Holland, Portugal, Denmark, Italy, Belgium and the U.S. are shaded different colors, according to a key to “Possessions.” A distinctive feature of this globe is the outline and direction of ocean currents prominently shaded in blue.\u00a0 Cartographic information listed in the legend includes capital, major and important cities; railroad lines; aboveground, underwater, finished and projected telegraph lines; rivers; deserts and sands; regional and national boundaries; caravan routes; and shipping lanes.\u00a0 The legend also notes that “a number beside a place indicates the year of its discovery by Europeans.” Oceans are blue, countries are colored in faded shades of yellow, orange and green.\u00a0\u00a0 Antarctica is cream-colored with a pattern of small blue shapes to suggest its icy environment.\u00a0 The globe is drawn at a scale of one centimeter to 500 kilometers.<\/p>\n