Volume Ii Part 11 (1/2)
121a) the diameter of each is about 23 cm. In geographical details, in legends, etc., each of these agrees with the preceding second pair. It is, however, to be noted that the date on the terrestrial globe has the figure 50 appearing in the date 1750 skilfully inserted after the removal of the original, and that the loxodromic lines are on this more numerous; indeed, it is one of the most interesting globes examined for the representation of these lines, which become curiously, but necessarily, somewhat intricate in their crossings as they approach the poles. Of the three pairs of these globes referred to above, this third pair seems to be the best preserved; the only injury to be especially noted is that appearing on the celestial, this being a crack in the surface extending from pole to pole. The original colors in each are particularly well preserved.
In addition to the examples of Valk globes referred to above as belonging to the University of Ghent and to The Hispanic Society of America, a pair may be found in the Konigliches Museum of Ca.s.sel, said by Gerland to be dated 1715, and to have each a diameter of 45 cm., also a terrestrial globe in the same museum said to be dated, though doubtless erroneously, 1700, and to have a diameter of 23 cm., also a celestial globe of the same date having a diameter of 30 cm. In the Mathematische Salon of Dresden is a celestial globe having a diameter of 30 cm., and a pair in the Museo di Fisica of Bologna, the diameter of each being about 46 cm. The date has not been ascertained. In the Germanisches Nationalmuseum of Nurnberg may be found a well-preserved pair of the Valk globes said to be dated 1700 and to have each a diameter of 31 cm.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 121a. Celestial Globe of Gerhard and Leonhard Valk, 1750 (?).]
John Senex, a noted English cartographer and engraver (d. 1749),[135]
appears to have given some attention to the construction of globes, which were sold at his establishment in Salisbury Court, London. In the year 1714 we find his name a.s.sociated with that of John Maxwell in the issue of 'The English Atlas,' and in 1721 he appears as the editor of 'A New General Atlas.' It was in the year 1720 that he made a representation to the House of Commons on the subject of ”A New Globular Projection,” with the thought of eliciting encouragement for the employment of better methods in map construction. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1728, and in 1738 read before that society a noted paper on his ”Contrivance to make the Poles of the Diurnal Motion in a Celestial Globe pa.s.s round the Poles of the Ecliptic.” This globe was to be ”so adjusted as to exhibit not only the risings and the settings of the stars in all ages and in all lat.i.tudes, but the other phenomena likewise, that depend upon the motion of the diurnal axis round the annual axis.” From what is stated in this paper one is led to a.s.sociate his idea with that of Ca.s.sini, to which attention was directed above.
If, however, such a globe was constructed as that referred to in this scientific address it is not now known. Five of his globes have been located, two of them undated, and three of them dated 1793, which, if the correct date of issue, it will be noted, is more than fifty years after his death. A pair of his globes may be found in the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris undated. These are reported as having a diameter of about 40 cm. They are furnished with bra.s.s meridian circles, with horizon circles of wood, and each with a wooden base. The dedication reads: ”Philosopho ac Geometrae summo D? Isaaco Newton, equiti, Regalis Societatis Londini, ad scientias promovendas inst.i.tutae, Praesidi dignissimo, ejusdemque consilio et sodalibus hos Globos qua par est humilitate D.D. C. Johannes Senex. London.” ”To the great philosopher and geometrician Sir Isaac Newton, Knight, most worthy President of the Royal Society of London, for the promotion of knowledge, and to the Committee and Members of the same Society these globes with befitting humility are dedicated by C. John Senex. London.” Further descriptive details of these globes it has not been possible to obtain.
The Biblioteca Real of Madrid possesses a terrestrial globe by Senex (Fig. 122), which bears the t.i.tle legend, ”A new and most correct Globe of the Earth laid down from the latest observations from the most judicious astronomers, navigators, & travelers, by John Senex, F. R. S.
Now made and sold by Dudley Adams (only)[136] with all the latest discoveries together with many new improvements etc. 1793.” This globe has a diameter of about 40 cm., is furnished with a broad band which serves as a horizon circle, a meridian circle of bra.s.s within which it is made to revolve, and a tripod base. Its three fluted support columns are strengthened in their position by three curved iron braces which carry at their juncture a short carved post, through a slot in which the bra.s.s meridian is movable. While the surface of the sphere is somewhat injured, being crossed by numerous cracks, the engraved map is fairly legible in all of its parts.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 122. Terrestrial Globe of John Senex, 1793.]
The British Museum likewise possesses one of Senex's terrestrial globes, which seems to be practically like that to be found in the Madrid Library.
It will have been noted that many of those reputed to have been globe makers in these early years did not actually apply themselves to the constructive mechanical work, this being pa.s.sed over to skilled artisans, to workers in metal and wood, to engravers and to mathematical instrument makers, who, if possessing generally recognized ability, often insisted on having their names a.s.sociated in the author legends with the real authors of the globes. Nicolas Bion (1652-1733) may be cited as an excellent example of such a skilful workman, achieving in his day great distinction as a globe maker.[137] He seems not to have thought of himself as one meriting special honors as geographer, cartographer or astronomer (Fig. 123). By reason of his marked abilities, exhibited in the manufacture of mathematical instruments, he was honored by his royal patron with the t.i.tle Engineer of the King for Mathematical Instruments. Through his princ.i.p.al work,[138] a treatise on the construction and uses of globes in which the subject is treated in both a theoretical and a practical manner, he is ent.i.tled to rank with the leaders of the century in this particular field of scientific endeavor. True to the spirit of the age Bion gave much thought to the idea of reform in the matter of globe construction, especially in the matter of fas.h.i.+oning globe gores and their attachment to the surface of the sphere. He seems to have prospered in his business, and we are told by his son that he constructed numerous armillary spheres, likewise many terrestrial and celestial globes of various sizes. Reference is made above to a task a.s.signed to him by the great astronomer, Ca.s.sini.[139]
A few of the globes of this distinguished man have been located. Fiorini reports[140] that one of his celestial globes may be found in the private library of Count Malvezzi de' Medici of Bologna, having a diameter of about 32 cm. Its twelve gores have been cut at lat.i.tude 70 degrees both north and south, the polar s.p.a.ces being covered by four sectors instead of by the usual circular disc. The globe is made to revolve on its equatorial axis, not on the axis of the ecliptic. It has a simple mounting, including a meridian circle of bra.s.s and a horizon circle of wood. Star names are given in French and in Latin. The dedication reads, ”Dedie et presente a Monseigneur le Dauphin par son tres humble et tres obeissant Bion,” but there appears to be some uncertainty about the date, which is probably between 1700 and 1710.
There is one of Bion's terrestrial globes dated 1712 and dedicated to ”Monseigneur le Duc de Berry,” in the Ist.i.tuto tecnico of Florence, which is reported to be in a good state of preservation. Loxodromic lines are drawn on the map in accord with the best practices of the time, which radiate from wind or compa.s.s roses, one being placed on the equator and one at lat.i.tude 35 degrees south. A third terrestrial globe made by Bion may be found in the Osservatorio Astronomico of Rome, which is wanting both dedication and place of publication.
The Osservatorio Astronomico also possesses a fine armillary sphere, the work of Carmelo Cartilia,[141] the diameter of whose largest or meridian circle is about 26 cm. It is described by a former director of the observatory as being made of bra.s.s, and a companion of a globe constructed by Bion, having a similar mounting. The equatorial circle, the tropics, and the colures have the usual graduation. The ecliptic consists of a band 4 cm. in width, having engraved on its surface the signs of the zodiac and the days of the months. At the north pole is attached an hour circle with index. At the common center of the circles is a small ball 27 mm. in diameter representing the earth, through which the axis of the ecliptic pa.s.ses. Around this small ball is adjusted a circle on which is engraved the word ”Luna.” There is an additional small circle which represents the course of the sun, and attached to this is a silvered ball to represent that luminary. Circles are provided representing the planets, on which we find such names as ”Marti,”
”Giove,” ”Saturno,” and circles around the sun representing the course of the planets Mercury and Venus. On one of the supporting arms of the sphere is the author and date legend, reading, ”Carmelus Cartilia et Francalancia Siculus fecit Taurini anno dni 1720.”
Mattheus Seutter (1678-1756) was a map and globe maker of this period, whose activities centered in the city of Augsburg.[142] His early training as engraver was received in the establishment of Johann Baptista Homann in the city of Nurnberg, but in the year 1707 he established himself in his native city, Augsburg, setting up an independent business for the production of maps, globes, and mathematical instruments. Seutter holds his place in the history of cartography not so much by reason of the high quality of the work done as by reason of the quant.i.ty.[143] The number of maps, large and small, battle plans and city plans, charts geneological, chronological, and heraldic, which he published may be counted by the hundreds, the majority being modified copies of maps and charts which others had previously issued. As a reward for the dedication of his large atlas to the Emperor Charles VI, issued in the year 1725, he was named ”Imperial Geographer,” a t.i.tle which had been held by Homann until his death in the year 1727.
Following the practice of the more prominent map makers of the period, Seutter turned his attention to globe construction, and not a few examples of his work can still be found. Some of his globes were of large size, having a diameter of about 160 cm. The terrestrial as well as the celestial globe b.a.l.l.s he covered with twelve engraved sections, or twice twelve, these being cut at the line of the equator, and at lat.i.tude sixty-seven both north and south, the polar s.p.a.ce being covered, as was usual, with a circular cap or disc. The mountings of these globes consist of a wooden meridian circle and a graduated wooden horizon circle, having each on the upper surface the usual concentric rings with the names of the months, the names and signs of the zodiacal constellations, and the names of the princ.i.p.al winds, the whole being supported by two semicircles attached below to a single columnar base 28 cm. in length. A brief author legend reads, ”Globus terrestris juxta recentissimas observation: et navigation: peritissimor: Geograph: delineat. cura et sumptibus Matth. Seutteri Calcogr: August.”
”Terrestrial globe according to the most recent observations and voyages of the most skilled geographers. Made by the labor and at the expense of Mattheus Seutter renowned engraver.”
The maps on these globes present no features of special scientific value, the author following in the main the best contemporary geographical and astronomical records. It should, however, be noted that he introduced an improvement in the construction and printing of the circular polar discs. To the end of remedying the difficulty in attaching this part of the covering, having observed, as others, that the paper would expand with the application of paste, and could therefore not be adjusted with the strictest accuracy and nicety, he conceived the idea of cutting from this disc a very small section or small sections, so that when it was applied to the sphere after being moistened with the paste the amount of stretching was sufficient to cover the s.p.a.ce. In other words, he made his circular disc one of 350 degrees instead of one having the full 360 degrees. In this connection, it might be noted that the quality of the paper was an element always to be taken into account in calculating the amount of expansion after moistening.
A pair of Seutter's globes may be found in the Biblioteca Comunale of Macerata. A copy of the terrestrial is reported in 1892 to have been in the private library of Professor Maximilian Tono of Venice, a pair in the Museo Astronomico of Rome (Figs. 124, 125) and also in this museum may be found a complete set of the gores for one of his terrestrial as well as a set for one of his celestial globes, but which by Professor Jacoli of Venice have been thought to be reprints and not originals. A copy of the celestial globe may be found in the Biblioteca Universitario of Urbino.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 124. Terrestrial Globe of Mattheus Seutter, 1710.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 125. Celestial Globe of Mattheus Seutter, 1710.]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 125a. Terrestrial Globe of Van Lauen Zonen, 1745.]
Robert Morden,[144] active in London in the closing years of the seventeenth and early years of the eighteenth century as map and globe maker, seems, however, not to have won for himself a place of particular prominence, his maps not being held in especially high repute. He was for some time a.s.sociated with Thomas c.o.c.krill at ”The Sign of the Atlas”
in Cornhill. Morden, however, published a small work on geography and navigation in the year 1702, in which he attempted to set forth the value attaching to globes for those interested in the general subject of which he treated in his work.[145] While his map publications are numerous, it has been possible to locate only the gores of one of his globes, which gores may be found in the British Museum. Of the twelve sections which made up a complete set for covering a sphere about 35 cm. in diameter, but nine remain, three having disappeared.
Jean Antoine Nollet, a French physicist (1700-1770), was a man of science held in high esteem in his day.[146] In his early years he entered the College of Clermont, later studied philosophy at the University of Paris, where, against the wishes of his parents, he finally turned his attention to the study of the natural sciences, particularly to experimental physics. Early in his career he was honored with members.h.i.+p in the Royal Academy of Sciences of Paris and in other similar organizations in Europe. In the year 1739 he was called to the Court of Sardinia, where he gave lessons in physics to the Duke of Savoy. Later he was called to the University of Turin, and was here especially honored by having his name a.s.sociated with those who were the founders of the inst.i.tution. In the year 1753 he was called to the chair of physics at the College of Navarre, which position he so acceptably filled that he received the t.i.tle Master of Physics and of Natural History for the Royal Children of France. His published works, which are very numerous, treat of his studies in the physical sciences, particularly in the field of electricity.
Nollet's instruments, made for use in the study of the physical sciences, included terrestrial and celestial globes, six of which have been located, dated 1728 and 1730. The spheres are of papier-mache, having each a diameter of about 35 cm.[147] The engraved maps covering the spheres are composed of twelve gores, which are cut at the line of the equator but extend to the poles, omitting therefore the usual polar circular discs. Each is furnished with a horizon circle of wood, on the surface of which is the usual paper covering with the names of the princ.i.p.al directions, of the zodiacal constellations, and of the names of the months in concentric circles. Each also has a graduated meridian circle, the whole resting on a base of four turned and rather artistically fas.h.i.+oned columns.
His terrestrial globes have the following t.i.tle: ”Globe terrestre dresse sur les observations les plus nouvelles et le plus exactes approuvees par M?? de l'Academie Royale des sciences. a Paris avec privilege du Roi. Monte par l'auteur.” ”Terrestrial globe made according to the most recent and the most exact and approved observations by the Royal Academy of Sciences. Paris, with the approval of the King. Made by the author.”
The dedication reads ”Dedie et presente a S. A. Madame La d.u.c.h.esse du Maine par son tres-humble et tres-obeissant serviteur Nollet Lic. en Theologie. 1728.” ”Dedicated and presented to Her Highness the d.u.c.h.ess of Maine by her very humble and very obedient servant Nollet Licentiate in Theology. 1728.” Numerous inscriptions relate to well-known geographical discoveries. Meridian and parallel circles are drawn on the globe at intervals of five degrees, the princ.i.p.al ones, including the equator, the tropics, and polar circles, being made especially prominent. The prime meridian, pa.s.sing through the Island of Ferro, is designated ”premier meridien de l'Isle Fer. Declaration du Roi Louis XIII du Juil. 1634.”
The celestial globe is t.i.tled ”Globe celeste calcule pour l'annee 1730 sur les observations les plus nouvelles et les plus exactes. a Paris avec privilege du Roi. Bailleul le jeune sculpsit. Monte par l'auteur.”
”Celestial globe calculated to the year 1730 according to the most recent and the most exact observations. Paris, with the privilege of the King. Bailleul the younger engraver. Constructed by the author.” It is dedicated ”Dedie et presente a S. A. S. Monseigneur le Comte de Clermont par son tres-humble et tres-obeissant serviteur Nollet de la Societe des Arts. 1730.” ”Dedicated and presented to His Most Serene Highness Seigneur The Count of Clermont by his very humble and very obedient servant Nollet of the Society of Arts. 1730.” The equatorial circle and the ecliptic, as represented on the map, are graduated, but the tropics and the polar circles are merely drawn as continuous black lines. The figures representing the several Ptolemaic constellations are artistically drawn and retain much of their original color, which was added by hand at the time of construction.
Of Nollet's globes a pair may be found in the Biblioteca Maldotti of Guastalla, a pair in the Seminario Vescovile of Mondovi, a copy of the terrestrial in the Archivo Fenaroli of Brescia, and a copy of the celestial in the Museo Astronomico of Rome.
Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr (1671-1750) was one of Nurnberg's famous eighteenth-century mathematicians who was especially distinguished as writer, translator, editor, and teacher.[148] A part of his early training he received at the Egedian Gymnasium of his native town, where from 1704 to the time of his death he was actively engaged as teacher of mathematics and physics. In the year 1696 we find him registered as a student of law at the University of Altdorf, though turning betimes with much enthusiasm to the study of mathematics under the direction of Joh.