12 Inch Terrestrial Globe

An attractive globe from the early 20th century.

This beautiful globe presents a political overview of the world nearing the end of Pax Britannica. Printed color distinguishes the borders of states and nations, with the immediately identifiable soft pink of the British Empire splashed across each continent.

The massive Russian Empire, orange, spans much of Europe and Asia and buttresses Germany and Austria-Hungary – both of whom were feeling surrounded by enemies on all sides. The Scramble for Africa continues, with shrinking independent enclaves failing to maintain their sovereignty against European colonizers. The results of recent polar explorations are also presented, offering various territorial claims in the Antarctic and the Arctic Ocean apparently open for navigation!

Other features noted throughout the globe’s surface include railways, telegraph cables, major settlements, geographic landmarks, and the International Date Line. Isothermal lines are shown for January (blue) and July (red) and an analemma, used to calculate the position of the sun, is provided in the Pacific Ocean.

The gores were copywritten in 1910 by W. & A.K. Johnston, Ltd. of London. The globe was manufactured shortly thereafter in Chicago Heights, Illinois by the Weber Costello Company.