John and William Cary Table Globes

A beautiful pair of 12-inch terrestrial and celestial table globes by the renowned John and William Cary of London, generally regarded as the greatest British globe makers of the late Georgian period. Beautifully and accurately crafted, these highly detailed maps of the earth and skies would have been indispensable instruments of learning and business in the days of exploration. The terrestrial globe provides the most current geographical information of the time, including facts discovered during expeditions to the North Pole, while the celestial globe provided a timeless map of the heavens, an essential tool in shipping. Set in their Regency-period mahogany stands, each globe has aged to a beautiful patina. John Cary and his brother William collaborated in the late 18th century to create some of the finest globes in the world. Their expert design and craftsmanship soon allowed them to take command of the English globe-producing market.

The terrestrial globe is inscribed “CARY’S NEW TERRESTRIAL GLOBE, Delineated from the Best Authorities Extant; Exhibiting the Late Discoveries towards the NORTH POLE and every improvement in Geography to the present Time, LONDON; Published G. & J. Cary, St. James Street, March 15th 1821.” The celestial globe is inscribed within a rectangular label, “CARY’S NEW CELESTIAL GLOBE ON WHICH are correctly laid down upwards of 3500 stars, Selected from the most accurate observations, and calculated for the Year 1800, With the exient of each Constellation precisely defined by Mr. Gilpin of the ROYAL SOCIETY/Made and Sold by J. & W. Cary No. 181 Strand London Jan 1816.”

Terrestrial globe: dated 1821
Celestial globe: dated 1816, with calculations from 1800

16” diameter overall x 18” high

There is commonly a significant difference between the dates of terrestrial and celestial pairings. Globe makers often made celestial models in advance, since the stars and constellations were considered established and unchanging. New lands were constantly being discovered around the world, and terrestrial models were almost always “made to order” to ensure updated accuracy. This distinguished pair represents an exceptionally rare find. A similar celestial globe is featured in Elly Dekker and Peter van der Krogt’s Globes from the Western World.

Reference:
Globes from the Western World, 1993, Elly Dekker and Peter van der Krogt